Naruto's Greatest Heresy
by Stigma
Summary: A young impressionable Naruto is driven to the Jashin faith by the violence directed at him and becomes a cold hearted killer. But in time he comes to commit the greatest heresy decreed by lord Jashin: falling in love. Dark Naruto, NaruHina
1. Drowning a Fox in Blood

Yo, folks!

First off, a quick rundown:

Yes, I know most of the readers here are probably from the "Genius Losers..." crowd, and thus wish to finish that story first. Make no mistake, I will be working on that one far more than this. This story is meant to be muuuuuuuch shorter than that one. Hell, maybe even less than ten chapters??

Secondly, I chose the mature rating due to extreme blood, violence, and sadism (yes, you read that right). **This is a dark Naruto fic!** (I put that in bold 'cause I know people like to skip the author's notes a lot).

Thirdly, due to the nature of the content of the story, there will be a lot of religious-themed statements and comments made by the characters. Remember, this is only the context of the story and in no way should any of you take it to be anything more than that. If you're offended by any of it, then stop reading or barrel through it. For the record, even I was slightly offended when writing half this stuff, so there you have it.

The official pairing is Naruto and Hinata, but I haven't really decided. She's merely one of the contestants... heheh... at some point I'm gonna ask you to vote, but I WILL. NOT. ASK. NOW. Any 'suggestion' left in a review before I ask for it will be utterly disregarded.

Now, on with it! Leave a review when you finish!

* * *

Naruto ran for his life down one of the many dark streets in the hopes of evading a handful of drunkards who pursued him. He was only a seven year old child and incapable of defending himself against the harshness of the world, so fleeing was his singular option. Not that he wasn't used to it by now- there seemed to be quite a few people amongst the villagers who actually attempted to act on their feelings of contempt and kill him- but such a thing got old after a while.

The young blonde barreled through empty streets in the shadows of the moonlight to no avail- the hostile handful still followed. He dodged into random streets and alleys without looking back, his lungs burning from the effort and his muscles screaming for relief. Eternal minutes passed and the cries of the inebriated men died as the surrounding environment blurred into a darkened smear. The Uzumaki's small feet slowed when he felt he was finally safe and he glanced up to find that, once again, he was not alone.

Apparently he had entered a lesser populated section of Konoha- a select few blocks dedicated to shops and stores rather than living quarters. He stood before a circular dead end that was elevated in a clearing between clusters of tall buildings. The area was fairly spacious and there was an eerie fire that burned in the center amidst a circle of seals.

The figures lining the outdoor chamber glared at him with a mixture of surprise and hate, both emotions he was familiar with by now. Every one of them carried brutal-looking long weapons and was donned in dark clothing that could cast a silhouette in the black of night. There was a single hooded man standing before the fascinating conflagration who turned to eye the newcomer as if expecting him.

"Uh…" the blonde struggled to explain his way out of this one, "Hi."

"An intruder to our ritual," the menacing character stated coldly. He snapped a finger. "Kill him for the sacrifice."

Naruto's eyes went wide at those words and he tried to run again, but this time he was caught by a bulky tall man with a mane of jet black hair that could overshadow a lion. The enemy stabbed at him with a long javelin, piercing his small stomach and sending the boy to the ground. The stranger then unearthed a string of beads connected to some circular jewelry and began chanting something while dragging a foot against the ground, smearing the Uzumaki's blood into a pattern.

Said blonde felt the world growing dark and cold. His eyelids weighed more and more as the seconds passed and he struggled for breath. What felt like hours later, he awoke to find that very little had changed- the man who would be his murderer was still murmuring and painting that simple symbol on the ground in blood. The sight of the spilled crimson liquid suddenly seemed… appealing, and Naruto felt anger well up in his gut- a special kind of rage that he had never experienced before. Heat emanated from his body and he felt strength return to his fragile body, so he clumsily stood to his feet and faced the man who stabbed him.

The killer made haste and, for whatever reason, licked the end of the short spear and swallowed the smidgen of the boy's blood. Naruto didn't understand why he did this, but he no longer cared. He lunged at the man and clamped his small hands around the wide throat.

What happened next would remain unclear to the boy for years to come; the fury within his soul surpassed the vengeance of being stabbed. It felt as if all the hatred and spite of the world was being channeled through his veins. His soul burned with malicious power, and every act of cruelty and harshness ever bestowed on the Uzumaki exited his body through the muscles and tendons of his arms as he proceeded to tear his assailant apart with every ounce of strength available to him. A voice not his own screeched in his mind as he beat, ripped, tore, and bludgeoned the dying enemy. Said man fought back, his mouth opening and his weapons slashing, but no sound came from him or the outside world. What seemed to be days passed before the blonde child's sentience returned from the inner hell on earth, and he awoke to his consciousness to find himself drenched in blood.

The other frightening individuals flinched to move against him but checked the motion when the hooded man held up an open palm. "Halt," he ordered quietly, his command followed obediently, "He has proven himself."

Naruto straightened himself from the bloodbath at his feet and stared coldly at the awaiting throng. This time, rather than glares of hatred, everyone's gaze contained something foreign: begrudging approval. The boy didn't understand how or why these intimidating people seemed to suddenly tolerate him, but that was a musing far from his mind. He was in shock; he had just killed a man with his bare hands and reality seemed to be an eternal distance away as he stared into the moonlit night with azure orbs. He regarded the hooded man with blank eyes.

"According to our beliefs," the man waved a hand and the mutilated corpse was handled by an adjacent pair of strangers, "You keep what you kill." The bloody heap was brought to him and he carefully removed the golden jewelry from the shredded neck. "You have killed Vastos, not a simple task among the believers. He was a powerful one amongst the followers gathered here." He held the ornament out towards the boy, the simple symbol dangling from the beaded wire. "If you wish, you may take his place amongst us."

The blonde continued his empty gaze. "Why… would I do that?" he inquired with a choked voice. He wanted to cry but his body refused to cooperate.

"In our way of life, one can do whatever they please. There is but one requirement; that we slaughter our enemies in the name of our lord."

The young Uzumaki's impressionable mind took all this in and began mulling it over. At first he blatantly rejected it, but memories of the countless efforts on his life kept him from verbally expressing so. The gears in his brain turned; for as long as he could remember people had been trying to kill him, he had been consistently abandoned by those supposedly responsiblefor his care and well-being, and he was continuously ignored and berated by those who wouldn't actively seek to end his life without cause. What was there to truly live for? It was obvious that no one cared about him save the elderly Hokage, and even he wouldn't be around for long. Soon enough, he would be absolutely alone in a world that denied him his right to simple survival. There was no point in going against such a futile uphill battle while being held back by the hatred and disgust of the world.

He weakly held out his hand to accept the bloodied medallion. "Is… there more?"

The hooded man smiled wide and graciously relinquished the golden ornament. "So much more," he stated while Vastos's body was hurled into the bizarre fire onto a pike hidden by the flames. The corpse was thoroughly impaled and began burning with a certain fascinating grotesqueness. "Let us now begin the ritual, and you shall be one of us," he explained before turning in place and raising his hands into the air. "We beseech you to hear us, Lord Jashin!"

That night, Naruto watched and listened intently to the disturbing ceremony and became the newest member in the cult to the god of murder. He had chosen to change his fate to that of immortal hatred and vengeance in exchange for the inherent kindness in his heart.

--

"Naruto!" Iruka called from his roster, "You're next!" The boy silently rose from his seat and calmly made his way to the room in which he would be tested for graduation from the ninja academy. Iruka and Mizuki observed the quiet intimidating boy approach the desk and put his hands together into the appropriate seals.

While Mizuki displayed his false concern for the boy, Iruka felt something entirely different. The scarred shinobi had known Naruto when the boy was a mere child- they had encountered on another several times in the streets. At the time, the Umino understood that the blonde child craved attention and worked to obtain it any way possible, whether in the form of pranks or simply childish behavior. He understood that the boy had led a harsh life and empathized with him when they first met, but now…

Something happened to Naruto before his entrance into the Academy. As the years went by, so did his wardrobe. His gaudy jumpsuits transformed into impossibly dark loose fitting robes that didn't weren't even appropriate at a funeral. The boy before him wore one such robe tied together by a coil of rope that was dyed blood red and carried a scent frighteningly similar to that of the ruby liquid. He was also the only student to ever carry an unsheathed weapon- an odd spear that was almost as tall as he was. The javelin gradually flattened into a thick blade at one end while the other tapered off into a spike; it was beyond Iruka how one was meant to wield it effectively.

But looks were only the tip of the iceberg; his personality had also undergone a radical change. The happy-go-lucky personality that had once defined the Uzumaki had all but vanished by now; he still smiled and spoke loudly with pride, but the smiles were those of a beast seeking a kill and the headstrong attitude possessed undertones of one who did not fear death or retribution in any way. The way he carried himself had changed, too. Gone was the cheerful bounce in his step and morose slump when he was down; those were now replaced by a confident slouch that was a mix of laxness and superiority. Even Sasuke's brooding self couldn't touch that combination.

Which led to another thing: Naruto's interactions with the other students. He no longer strived to be the center of attention. Instead, he sat back to live and let live, at least until someone threw a verbal jab his way. Such actions died rather quickly, since the other preteens seemed to sense something… wrong emanating from the boy; they generally kept their distance. Strangely enough, when the blonde first began exhibiting his aloof attitude, a small fan club developed for him; it seemed the females of the class were attracted to the bad boy stereotype. But unlike Sasuke, who chose merely to brood while keeping everyone at arm's length, Naruto frightened the fledging fangirls with the specifics of his daily habits. It was later said that his gaze could stop one's heart for a moment, and not in the romantic sense.

The Umino was also curious about the boy's academic standing. To be sure, the Uzumaki wasn't the best and brightest of the class, but he had never really displayed any true show of intelligence. He would easily score among the lowest on tests where book smarts were concerned and his chakra control, for lack of a better word, sucked. But when it came to practical applications of chakra, he would try hard enough to get the job done at an absolutely minimum level then quit, so his capabilities were still unknown. Iruka also wondered why the boy displayed such a detailed understanding of muscle groups and bone structures only to turn around and fail to name a few key facts that were practically common knowledge. "_Hell,_" he mused, "_He's even corrected me a few times on human anatomy…_"

The scarred chunin was shaken from his inner observations when the blonde in question failed to produce an adequate clone. "Sorry, Naruto," he began, "I can't pass you for that."

"It's a shitty way to test battlefield skills," the Uzumaki sneered, "What good are clones you can't even touch anyway?"

"Like it or not, those are the basics. If you can't even pull those off, then I can't pass you."

"Don't be so harsh, Iruka," Mizuki countered, "After all, this is his third time testing for graduation. Perhaps we could let him pass this time; he's obviously putting forth the effort."

He wondered about that last comment. "Mizuki, you know the rules. We can't make exceptions for anyone."

Naruto snorted with eyes that possessed elevated degrees of annoyance. The preteen turned on his heel to exit the room. "I'll try again next time," he spat before disappearing from view.

The Umino sighed inwardly; the boy was difficult to understand. Or maybe it was simpler than things appeared? Little did he know he would find out soon enough…

--

Late that night, Iruka sailed through the trees in search of the blonde. The boy had made off with one of the forbidden scrolls from the Hokage's home and the village was on high alert. The scarred man hoped he found his pupil before anyone else; who knew what the others would do to him?

He sighed in relief when he found the blonde seated next to the document in question and taking controlled heavy breaths. The older ninja approached the prone boy and confronted him in a way he didn't see as too aggressive.

"Naruto, what the hell were you thinking?!"

The blonde gazed at him with mildly sleepy eyes. "Iruka," he greeted with his usual bloody smile, "Can I pass now?"

"What do you mean 'can I pass now'?! You stole a very dangerous scroll! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Mizuki said if I snuck the scroll past the Hokage and learned something from it," he panted yet hid his exhaustion, "I could pass."

The Umino raised an eyebrow. "He what?" he asked with real concern overriding his frustration. "He told you to…?" He put two and two together. "Oh my God…"

"Well," a voice called from the treetops, "Looks like you got to him before me!"

Both heads swiveled to find Mizuki perched on a thick limb overhead. "Mizuki!" Iruka yelled, "Why did you tell Naruto to steal the scroll?!"

"And they call you a teacher," he mused outwardly, "You can't even figure that one out?"

"It's a treasonable offense! You know that!"

"Oh come on, no one'll ever link me to it. I mean, look," he nodded towards the blonde, "Everyone knows he stole it… and when neither he nor the scroll returns, everyone'll know he took off with it."

His eyes widened. "You… what are you planning?! Why are you doing this?!"

"You seriously don't know? Fucking moron!" He stood from his crouched position. "Might as well tell you since you won't be around much longer..."

"Yes, explain yourself!" the Umino unsheathed a kunai.

"You know as well as I do what that brat is…"

"Mizuki," Iruka knew full well what the traitor was about to say, and his voice dripped with warning, "Don't say it!"

"He's the nine-tailed fox! When I kill you two, I'll dispose of the bodies and no one will know or care that he's gone! Hell," he continued, "If it wasn't for me takin' off, I'd probably be a hero in this village!"

The scarred chunin glanced back at Naruto. He expected the boy to be in shock from the news, but what he found instead surprised him.

The Uzumaki merely grimaced with what appeared to be a smile tugging at his lips. "I get it now…" the boy whispered to himself, "It all makes sense…"

"Naruto!" the ninja instructor crouched and grasped the blonde by the shoulders, "You are _not_ the fox! Mizuki is lying!"

Said traitor laughed. "Come on, Iruka, don't lie! He killed your parents that night when he attacked. You should be thanking me…"

"That's a lie!" Iruka shouted back at the man in the trees, "Naruto is the fox's prison, not the fox himself!"

"Whatever," Mizuki gave up the verbal spar and unhooked one of his oversized shuriken. "Once I take you out, I'll be free to make any kind of bargain I want." He lobbed the massive throwing star… but not at Iruka. The failed academy student was far more vulnerable.

The scarred man saw this ploy and moved to intercept the incoming weapon while shielding his frightening student. He leaned over the blonde in time to receive a sharp pain spinning into his back, spattering blood in the boy's face. He glanced down to order the boy to run only to find his expectations dashed once again.

"What are you doing?" Naruto inquired with a fading grin that resembled dissappointment. He didn't seem shocked at all that his teacher was injured or that there was blood on his face. "Why did you do that?"

"Wha…?" he almost questioned him further but swallowed the question with some blood. "Naruto, you've got to run!" He gathered himself, yanked the weapon from his back, and returned it to the sender.

Mizuki easily dodged the hastily flung device. "Not good enough!" He leapt from his hefty branch and tossed the other one, landing it squarely in the fellow chunin's stomach. Iruka doubled over from the sudden pain while the traitor rushed towards the boy who attempted to stand in time to counter him. Fortunately, he was far more experienced than the blonde bane, and his kunai stuck quite nicely in the boy's abdomen…

But the Uzumaki did not go down. His face scrunched up in pain, but he suddenly jabbed at Mizuki with that strange spear he always carried. Mizuki hadn't expected the failed novice ninja to be so composed, so the blade of the javelin nicked him ever so slightly as he leapt back. He stared in awe as the boy, sporting a sick smirk that belonged on a serial killer rather than a twelve-year old, began moving his foot in wide arcs, smudging the spilled blood into a familiar pattern.

"Wait a second…" the traitor recognized the bloody symbol; after all, he was a teacher. "That's… you're a…"

"This will not be pleasant," Naruto stated with a dark smirk before licking the edge of the weapon that penetrated the backstabber's flesh. His body instantly transformed into that of a living voodoo doll since he already stood in the accursed mark and he plunged his unique weapon into the open wound of his stomach.

"Gah!" Mizuki gurgled in agony as his knees hit the ground and his abdomen split open. Blood dribbled from his lips and his eyes displayed the true fear of death as a recovering Umino watched the entire spectacle in horror.

The blonde immortal spared a brief glance at the scarred ninja before returning his gaze upon the traitor's face. He loved it when his victims screamed and begged for their lives, even if such pleas could only be described by their facial expressions. "That's good…" he said, trembling a bit from the ensuing endorphin release, "That's real good…" He jabbed a kidney and chuckled at the painful yet tingly sensation. He continued to inflict harm upon himself and, thus, his enemy until he tired of it. When it got old, he smiled at the doomed man who lied in a pool of blood. "See you in hell, Mizuki." The spear impaled Naruto's heart and ended Mizuki's tortuous ordeal.

The Uzumaki then spent the next few minutes preparing for the after-kill ritual; there were many such ceremonies that had to be obeyed in order to receive the benefits of immortality. But before he could lie in the center of the bloody circle, Iruka summoned the strength to speak.

"Naruto…"

He turned to face the man. "Yes?"

"So you're… a follower of Jashin?"

"Yes," he nodded.

As the wounded chunin took in this newfound information, he realized that everything made sense now. Naruto's sudden change of personality, the way he carried himself, his method of confrontation and interaction… it all finally matched up. "Naruto," he spoke, one question nagging him above all others.

"What?" The blonde put a pause to his preparations once again.

"Did you…" he swallowed, "Did you join willingly?"

The immortal boy regarded him with darkened azure eyes. Was even the ambivalent Iruka about to betray him as well? "Yes."

"You did?"

"I did."

The wounded man closed his eyes and gave the smallest of smiles. "That's…" he sighed reluctantly, "That's good, that's good."

Those blue eyes narrowed; his teacher approved? "How's that good?"

"You joined of your own free will. That was… your choice, not someone else's. You weren't fooled into doing something you didn't want…"

An awkward moment passed and Naruto nodded before finally lying down on his bloody seal and jabbing his weapon into his chest. Many minutes quietly passed and, before he knew it, the minor ceremony was complete. As he stood, the scarred ninja spoke again.

"Naruto."

He gazed at the wounded instructor.

"I know this was your choice, and I won't tell you whether or not it was the right one, but please remember this…" The blonde recognized some form of lecture ensuing and turned to leave. "I know you had a harsh life and I'm no one to criticize you for your own choices, but if you've ever listened to me, please listen to this." The immortal stopped and aimed a passively attentive face in his direction. "If you ever find someone who tolerates you, someone who cares for you, someone who… loves you," he winced from his deep injuries, "Don't just let them go. Treasure them."

The disturbing boy took note of this advice and nodded. "I'll keep it in mind."

"That's good," he smiled, a trail of blood trickling from his lips. "Oh, yeah… did you learn anything from that scroll?" he inquired wearily to lighten the mood while awaiting a medical team.

This earned a smug smile from the immortal. "You bet I did…"

--

Sarutobi sat in his office staring intently into his crystal ball, viewing the scene that took place between teacher and student. While Naruto proceeded to create a mere handful of clones, the aged shinobi's mind raged an inward battle.

"_I should have known,_" he thought, "_Naruto went missing that night when those Jashin believers came through. Damn it! I should have been more attentive!_" He leaned back in his chair and the logical portion of his brain kicked in. "_But what could I do? If I had refused that cult passage, they would have fought their way through. It would have been a bloodbath for both sides all for the sake of a route for a simple pilgrimage._" He recalled that day clearly; the high priest- a deeply scarred old man shrouded in an ornate crimson and obsidian hood- agreed to Konoha's terms so the group could pass through the village in safety. They may have been immortal, but it was still possible to permanently incapacitate them…

He returned to his magical surveillance device and grimaced; it was understandable why the Uzumaki would have been attracted to the religion of murder. He was a highly impressionable child at the time and the cult guaranteed something that was always in jeopardy as well as a means to extract vengeance.

The Jashin doctrine assured him life everlasting and the bottomless hatred to kill all those who wronged him.

--

The next day earned the Uzumaki even more glares, but not because he was a killer who enjoyed his beliefs. He hadn't passed the public exam to become a genin, but here he sat regardless.

"Why are you here?" the nearby Sasuke inquired with a voice filled with spite. Curse the fact that the nearest seat was next to him. "You failed."

Naruto directed his murderous gaze and sadistic smile at the Uchiha. "I passed another way."

The brooding genius scoffed. "I doubt it…"

"Proof," he replied simply, raising his plated headband that was loosely tied around his neck and rested under his dark robes. "I passed."

Sasuke made some offhanded comment about allowing a loser like the immortal blonde to pass and sparked a verbal death match between the two while a certain Hyuuga watched from above. Hinata couldn't believe that Naruto had somehow passed; what alternate test could he have taken?

But such a point was moot for her; the blonde was once again in her proximity. Over the years, she had grown fond of the boy despite his frightening personality. At first she was attracted to his carefree personality, but when he started to change she took it as a sign of maturity. But while that was true to some extent, she hadn't been entirely correct and she knew it- something had happened to him to alter his life in a significant way.

At first she was scared of him. She clearly recalled the day he arrived in the dark robes and strange spear and how afraid she felt. But unlike the budding fans who abandoned the blonde, she attempted to understand him a little more, and it paid off. She learned that underneath the intimidating exterior lied the same headstrong confidence from which she took inspiration. He still carried himself in that way that defied all those who told him he was worthless, something she desperately wished she could do as well. All in all, the qualities that she had grown to appreciate were still there, only the wrapping was different.

She wondered if she could ever work up the courage to talk to him. Perhaps today would be the day?

--

Hours later, team seven sat on a rooftop exchanging introductions. Sasuke didn't reveal much- only that he had a superiority complex, a one track mind, and childish motives. Sakura didn't verbally unveil much, but her body language and girlish mannerisms spoke volumes; she was pretty much a disappointment as well. Naruto's response was far more colorful; he stated his name and instantly followed it up with, "I like ramen and death, I hate… people in general, and I wish to one day become a high priest."

The Haruno shied away from his voice and maniacal facial expression while the Uchiha merely raised an eyebrow. Kakashi glared blankly at the boy; he had heard about the incident regarding Mizuki's gruesome death and Naruto's involvement. "_High priest, huh?_" he wondered, "_He's a bigger time bomb than Sasuke…_"

When the newly minted team broke for the day, the blonde immortal walked casually down one of the many market streets, ignoring the glares shot his way. He didn't care about these insignificant people and they knew he could easily kill anyone who wished to make an attempt on his life. Stories of his assailants turning up dead without any apparent weapon wounds only served to widen the unspoken barrier around him. He continued down the road until a commotion halted his progress.

"Goddamn bitch!" an obviously drunk individual shouted at a woman dressed in a trench coat. He tossed an empty bottle at her and continued. "Fuckin' snake whore!"

"I'm not looking for trouble!" Anko shot back.

"You shoulda' died when that traitor fucked you over!" He tossed a rock at her next.

She dodged the stone easily. "I said I'm not lookin' for a fight! Just let me eat in peace and I'll be outta here…"

"Bullshit!" He unearthed a serious blade from beneath his clothes. "You were probably plannin' to kill my son with him- huh?" he almost stumbled over the passing blonde, "Who the fuck're you?!"

"Move," he stated, "You're in my way."

"My ass, kid!" the inebriated man obviously didn't recognize the boy, "Kids outta know their place!" He slashed at him with the blade, etching a superficial wound into the blonde's cheek. "Now get! I'm gonna skin me a snake- ah!" he yelped loudly when a spike impaled his foot.

"All you had to do was move," Naruto stated with a growing smile, "Better start praying…" He extracted the weapon and moved his hand towards the small gourd he kept tied to his crimson rope belt as the man scampered away, whimpering in pain the entire way.

"Hey, stop!" a hand halted the boy's moving arm to prevent him from grasping the container, "You don't need to go that far!"

He eyed the Mitarashi with a glare and a confused sneer that compelled her to keep her distance. As if feeling the unconscious command, she released him and backed away a few feet. "Why?" he asked, "He attacked me."

"I know, but that doesn't mean you should kill him," she replied with mild apprehension.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well... that's just something you don't do. I mean, he should be punished by having a brick shoved up his ass, but he's drunk- he doesn't really know what he's doing."

"He was going to attack you after killing me," he explained matter-of-factly, "Would you have let him go or killed him?"

"I would'a incapacitated his ass and handed him over to the ANBU."

He tilted his head and frowned. "Why?"

She paused before answering. "Sometimes… people just discriminate against people like me. I can't really do anything about it if I want to… you know…"

The blonde realized that she meant she was ostracized like him, but her answer still confused him. Why not kill anyone who meant harm, especially those who judged others with extreme prejudice? That didn't make sense to him. "I don't get it. When I stood up to the people who abused me, they stopped. Why won't you?"

Anko swallowed and briefly wondered if he knew why he was an outcast. "I don't do it because I actually want a chance to redeem myself."

"Why do you need to redeem yourself?"

"I…" she paused at the unpleasant memories, "I used to be Orochimaru's apprentice…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the familiar name. One of his religion's believers had joined an organization that possessed a member by that name. "And…?"

She smiled weakly. "A lot of people can't really differentiate between master and apprentice, so… I've got a lot to prove in order to fit in, and even then it's not a guarantee."

The blonde gazed at her a moment longer then returned his elongated weapon to its holster. "I see…" he said before turning to leave.

The Mitarashi stared after the boy before reentering the shop to complete her now cold meal. "_So that's Naruto Uzumaki,_" she mused, "_Poor kid. And I thought I had it bad…_" She retook her abandoned seat and frowned; she could relate to the boy in such a close way. It was a naïve way of thinking, but was there a possibility they could be… friends? "_Nah,_" she shook her head, "_We both got our own shit to deal with. Still,_" she directed her gaze out a nearby window, "_It would be nice to know someone who has a similar pain…_"

--

Naruto entered his home and slumped down onto the ragged couch he pulled from a dumpster several years ago. The blonde had eaten a feast of ramen at Ichiraku's stand, and the recent memory still plagued him.

He liked that establishment. A sick grin always plastered his face whenever he thought of the old chef's daughter, Ayame. She was so cute with that look of mild fear every time she glanced his way. He often wondered how her voice would waver and her lips would quiver should he take her to the brink of death before pushing her over the edge, but the only reason he refrained from doing so was because her father would probably close the shop upon her passing, or at the very least stop serving him. It was a conflict of interest: ramen versus indiscriminate killing. In the end, ramen won because Ichiraku's was the best in Konoha. Besides, its owners were among the select few people who tolerated him before his conversion- he owed them that much.

He unhooked the latch that kept his weapon to his side and noticed the blood from the man he wounded earlier hadn't yet dried. Staring at it, his lips creased into a smile and he strolled over to a special mat on his floor. Taking his small gourd and popping the cork, he poured a small puddle of blood onto the heavily stained fabric and smeared it into the familiar pattern. He licked the crimson fluid from the spiked end of his javelin and promptly plunged the device through his chest, trembling at the ecstasy of pain.

Somewhere within the Konoha hospital, a man being treated for a foot injury lurched forward as his chest miraculously split open in a fountain of blood. He died before he knew what happened.

A half hour later, as the Uzumaki finished up his after-killing ritual, he proceeded to unravel the scroll containing the teachings of Jashin. He had read the script many times over by now and it was fairly short and straightforward, but he always reveled in reading the few rules that lord Jashin bestowed upon his fellow immortals. His mind was muddled with the conversation with the 'snake woman'- he needed to squash the doubts that arose in his conscience thanks to her. "_Why do her words bother me so much?_"

"Kill without discrimination," he chanted quietly, "All men are mortals and deserve no separate treatment.

"Kill in the name of Jashin," he continued, "For he is the being who will one day baptize the land in blood gathered from those who follow him.

"Life is not precious; there is much of it. Live every moment as it is your final hour.

"Be strong and unyielding; soft words will only stay our lord's coming."

He reached the final and most important command of them all. "Abolish all forms of weakness and embrace chaos. Affection clouds the mind and stays the killing blow. Take up hatred and abandon love…"

The blonde continued to mutter aloud the entire script to cast Anko's words from his mind to no avail. He was so wrapped up in destroying the remaining sensitive emotions he had left that he didn't notice the faint presence at the door.

--

Hinata ran home with tears scrubbing her eyes. She had forced herself to go to Naruto's door and talk to him to tell her how she felt. After a solid five minutes of building the courage to knock on the door, she activated her Byakugan for only a moment to be sure she wasn't intruding, despite the irony of that thought process. What she saw shocked her beyond comprehension.

The blonde stabbed himself through the heart with his ebony spear. She was so surprised that she couldn't even scream, but before she could compose herself and burst into the room to help him, he removed the weapon as if went through air before impaling himself against the floor for a half hour. The only reason the Hyuuga didn't enter the rundown abode at all was because she couldn't move; fear and irrationality possessed full reign over her mind. Eventually, the boy sat up like nothing happened and began reading out of a scroll. This was when she bolted for home, confusion and concern littering her thoughts.

"_What was that?!_" she wondered with intense worry, "_W-what did Naruto do to himself?! How is he alive?!_" Her legs began to slow and her salty tears finally had a chance to flow downwards properly. "_What… what is Naruto?_"

* * *

Yeah, I know it's cliche to have Naruto running from a mob, but I really couldn't think of anything else to initiate things there.

The "Keep what you kill" quote is a blatant rip-off from the Chronicles of Riddick (great movie!!), but I felt that it worked really well.

**Please leave a review!! It will help me determine whether or not I should spend any more time on this fic.**

Catch ya'll later.


	2. Friendly Hostiles and Hostile Friendlies

Howdy!

I felt a burst of inspiration for this chapter, so I wrote it fairly quick. Mind you, there's only one scene left until I'm out of ideas for the future of this fic. Well, not quite, but let me explain: I've got a head without a body here (pun... well, kind of intended here. Hidan fans will know what I'm talking about). The ending is clear to me but the path to it is not. It could be a good wait before the next update, but I can't say for sure.

In the meantime, enjoy.

Uh... don't know if I said this before, but there will be 'colorful' language in this fic. Of course, it pales in comparison to the violence, but some people tolerate things out of order.

* * *

Kakashi was direly worried about his students, one in particular. He had heard of Mizuki's death at Naruto's hands and was duly informed of the boy's religious affiliation, and, while he didn't know how the boy ended the traitor's life, it concerned him to no end. "_He doesn't worry about consequences like everyone else,_" he knew, "_The question is, will he listen to anyone?_"

The survival test he administered to the newly instated genin came close to being a disaster. As predicted, Sasuke attempted to acquire a bell on his own and Sakura did little more than fawn over the Uchiha. But the Uzumaki's tactics were expectantly suicidal.

The blonde immortal attacked him head on the moment he said 'go', and while the Hatake was more than capable of defending himself, he had little doubt in his mind that Naruto would honestly kill him if given the opportunity. At one point, he actually had to reveal his Sharingan in order to avoid bodily injury- he didn't know how the fanatical cult performed their ritualistic killings, but he would be damned if that modified javelin was poisoned. Thankfully, Sasuke wasn't nearby to notice the transplanted bloodline and give the experience ninja hell about it.

When the noonday sun approached the sky, Sakura was tied to the stump- she was the only novice that hadn't made an attempt at capturing a bell. Kakashi berated the trio for not understanding and utilizing the point of the test- teamwork- to which the blonde killer snarled, "Why would I work with these two? I can take care of you without their help."

The Hatake had to admire the boy for his choice of words. Naturally, the other two took offense to this statement having assumed it to be an insult directed at their skill. But the jonin knew better. A follower of Jashin was invulnerable; there was no incentive to work with a team. No one had ever heard of a member of the infamous cult that fought alongside others.

In the end, Kakashi had to pass them. He was much harsher on the students after the break, but they managed to capture the bells and divvy them appropriately on his terms. Ironically, it was the blonde who forced the other two into operating as a team, albeit unconventionally. Whenever Sasuke prepared for an attack, Naruto would follow up in ways no one else could due to his immortality and, at points, literally throw Sakura into the fray- he didn't seem to care for her well being in the least and used her as no more than bait more often than not.

As the newfound team limped home in their respective directions, the Hatake caught up to the immortal boy. He wanted to talk, and the Uzumaki would hear him out or die trying… figuratively, anyway.

"Naruto," he addressed the preteen.

The boy's azure orbs rolled with his head and he glared at his teacher with lazy eyes. "What?"

"I want to talk to you about… you know…"

An awkward moment passed. "My beliefs?"

"Yes," he affirmed, "I understand that you are immortal, but your teammates aren't. I need to know that you'll watch their backs when push comes to shove."

The boy's lips parted in that patented disturbing smile. "Of course, Kakashi. I'll watch their backs."

Something didn't sound right about how he said that. "Will you back them up as a proper team member? I need to know."

The grin disappeared. "I don't like them," he stated with a growing measure of spite in his tone, "I'll stick with them to accomplish my goals. Nothing more." With that, he strolled off without uttering another word.

Kakashi shivered internally; Sasuke's murderous intentions were nothing compared to this boy. How could such a young child be so filled with hatred and anger? Perhaps it was a trademark of all those who served Jashin…

--

Naruto walked down the busy street unhindered. A few folks who witnessed his attack on the drunkard's foot the previous day shied away; news of the man's death had already permeated the masses and, while there was no real proof, everyone knew that the two events were related.

The reason most of the village was ignorant of the random violence surrounding the blonde was twofold. First, they were unaware of his murderous beliefs. To be sure, they were certain he was cold hearted killer, but that trait was attributed to the fox. Secondly, there were only two people in the entire village who knew of Jashin's followers' special method of murder: Iruka, who had recently witnessed it firsthand, and the elderly Hokage, who had been alive long enough to see it once.

"Yo, kiddo!" a familiar feminine voice sounded off from behind him before an arm draped itself across the boy's shoulder.

The Uzumaki instinctually positioned his javelin to jab whoever was behind him, but he recognized the individual in time to check the motion. Still, that didn't stop him from glaring at the woman. "You again," he addressed a smirking Anko, "What do you want?"

"Oh wow," she snickered, "You really _are_ scary!"

His brilliant eyes narrowed. "Go away," he ordered, "Or I'll kill you."

"Christ, you're uptight," she released him and stood upright by his side within the five meter radius everyone gave him. "Why so serious?"

"What do you want?" He wanted to know why this woman was bothering him before he sent her away or ended her life. Either option appealed to his bloody senses.

"C'mon," she patted him on the shoulder, "I just want to hang out- ouch!"

Naruto held his javelin steady, the flattened bladed edge having grazed the outer edge of the Mitarashi's upper arm. He intended to make due on his threat, but before he could retract his weapon to extract the warm crimson fluid, the woman began to massage the minor wound with a smile not unlike his own.

"That hurt," she complained insincerely, "I guess I'm not gonna crack your shell that quickly, eh?" She thought something was odd with the boy before realizing that he was staring at the mild cut with the corners of his lips curved upwards. An idea struck her and she moved the affected limb across her body and licked the wound. Besides, that was a method to stave off infection. Who knew how many people experienced the end of that weapon?

As the woman's tongue gently caressed the small injury, the immortal's face exploded into a smile; whoever this woman was, he liked her. There were so few sadists in Konoha- perhaps this was another person who enjoyed pain as much as he did?

This revelation was not lost on Anko. "_Guess all that time hanging around Orochimaru taught me something useful after all…_" She began bandaging the miniscule wound, all the while lost in her thoughts. She had done a lot of thinking the day before and concluded that, despite her best efforts, she was still fairly ostracized by the villagers. Sure, she held her own among her fellow ninjas, but they merely appreciated her skills. Even then she had few people she could call friends and even fewer she could refer to as confidants.

Then out of the blue, she encountered this blonde kid who understood what it was like to be an outcast. Truth be told, he was worse off since he had yet to display any show of skill or power to distinguish himself amongst his peers. It was like looking into a mirror: she could see her own childhood in the days Orochimaru abandoned her and the village generally shunned her because of her treacherous master's betrayal despite her loyalty. The Mitarashi decided after much deliberation that she would at least attempt to understand this disturbed boy and possibly even gain his trust. She knew that he probably needed her friendship as much as she needed his.

She was broken from her inner musings when the blonde suddenly licked his blade clean then wrapped the weapon in its holding strap. "Hey," she tried to change the subject, "You wanna get something to eat? My treat!" The boy's devilish grin never wavered as he considered. He then turned on his heel and began walking with purpose. Anko took his bemused silence as an affirmative and followed closely behind while ignoring the glares shot their way and the whispers emanating behind their backs. "_No big deal,_" she forced a smile, "_Most of these assholes wouldn't accept me anyway._"

The duo continued without a word until they came upon a small ramen stand. Upon arrival, Naruto instantly planted his butt on a seat and glanced at the snake woman, his disturbing grin still alive and well. "Your treat," he affirmed, "Right?"

"You bet," she assured while taking the stool next to him. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the two other patrons hasten their meal before leaving.

"Hey Naruto," the old man behind the counter greeted nonchalantly, "What'll it be?"

"The usual."

"Got it. Same for you, miss?" He received an affirming nod and began his work. Over the years, old man Ichiraku noted the changes in the preteen. One day many moons ago, the boy's cheery personality no longer seemed so bright, and the ensuing days only brought about its eventual death. Now, the only smiles the blonde ever gave reeked of twisted sadism, and he didn't appreciate the smirks and eye contact the boy gave his daughter. But Naruto had never done anything to warrant suspicion, so he continued to serve him according to his personal policy of indiscrimination.

"So Naruto," the snake woman began before being interrupted.

"What's your name?" He gazed at her with a twisted fascination. "You know mine, so what's yours?"

"Anko," she held out an open palm, "Anko Mitarashi."

He accepted the gesture but held on too long. In combination with his smiling features, it made for a creepy scene. "Why are you treating me?"

"Already told you," she replied, "I just want to hang out."

His mood instantly died as he frowned. "Why? No one wants to hang out with me. Ever."

She smirked his way then peered forward. "Dunno. Just felt like it." She hoped to at least gain some small measure of trust today.

The blonde's eyes narrowed and he shrugged to concede defeat. What did he care? After all, she was paying for a meal. The steaming hot bowls arrived soon enough and he accepted the food from an Ayame that trembled ever so slightly under his disturbing gaze. "Thank you… Ayame," he grinned, taking extreme satisfaction in the older teen's nervousness.

The Mitarashi took note of this. "Ya know," she stuffed a mouthful of noodles from her bowl into her gullet then swallowed, "You might not want to freak out the people who serve you food."

"Why?" he asked without skipping a beat in his feeding.

"They can put stuff in your food that's not so good."

"Like what?" He shoveled in another batch.

"Well, how do you know that broth's only water? Maybe one of them took a leak in it."

He chuckled, spilling noodles through his teeth. "Nah, these guys wouldn't do that… would you, Ayame?" he addressed the apprehensive girl behind the counter.

"N-no," she replied, "D-don't be silly…"

"But now that you mention it," he continued while examining a coil of noodles at the end of his chopsticks, "This tastes really spicy. It's making my mouth numb. What's in this?"

The girl visibly jumped at the inquiry. "It's… a new recipe! Yeah!" She glanced back and forth between the sole customers and the door to the back room. "I, uh… gotta go check the rest of the pot." She sprinted away.

"_My God,_" Anko thought, "_He scares the shit out of her._"

--

"It's not working," Ayame hissed at a man dwelling within the back room, "You said the effects would be immediate!"

"Huh," the man scratched his head, "I don't get it." He held a blank vial brimming with a white powder before his face. "This stuff is concentrated; it should have been able to take him out like that," he snapped his fingers.

The teen glanced nervously at the door. "He tastes it too," she stated, "He says it's spicy and is making his mouth numb."

The man shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you; those are possible effects of the poison. He's just not dying. Why is that?" his gaze went to the side. He believed it to be the fox, but he was under oath not to disclose that to the younger girl. "Why won't this kill him?"

Naruto's voice boomed from the storefront. "Hey Ayame! Seconds!"

This caught her off guard. "Uh…" she stammered, "C-coming!"

The visitor shook his head then made for the back door. "Sorry, Ayame. I appreciate you trying to help me out."

"Not a problem," she smiled weakly, "Mister Haruno."

"I'll be heading out now," he announced before exiting. "_My daughter will not be associated with that monster…I swear it._"

Little did either know that a blonde clone of the immortal hidden above the rafters was eavesdropping on the entire conversation. When Sakura's father left, it popped from existence and relayed the information back to the original.

"Hey Ayame," the blonde killer grinned at the emerging girl, "Please don't make it spicy this time." He winked to convey his point.

Anko wondered what he meant and was only further confused when the teenage girl gasped and dropped the bowl in her hands.

--

"Well, Naruto," the Mitarashi stated happily, "Guess I'll see you around!"

Naruto returned the gesture with a nod and a grim smile. "Back at ya," his perpetual grin gave the term an underlying slyness.

Anko strolled away from the blonde filled with confidence; she was certain that she established a link with the boy today and that, in due time, he could begin to trust her enough to call her a friend. She was proud of that accomplishment and was profoundly overjoyed to have gained someone she could one day truly call a comrade, but she also felt that there was an overwhelming presence about the preteen. "_Almost like he's trying his hardest to be something he's not…_"

While the snake mistress mused over her newfound confidant, said immortal trudged through the back streets in search of the Haruno household. His clone had been extremely handy, although he didn't quite grasp the particulars of how that technique functioned. Regardless, he felt obligated to… visit… the man who attempted to poison him.

"N-N-Naruto!" a stuttering voice that sounded familiar called after him.

"Gah!" he growled in frustration, "What?!" He whipped around; was today 'bother Naruto' day?

Hinata yelped when he spun on his heel to glare at her and instantly tried to hide in her oversized jacket. Her index fingers tapped together in her trademark nervous gesture as she summoned the courage to speak.

"Ah," the Uzumaki stated coldly, "It's you. What do you want? I've got…" his unnerving grin grew ear to ear, "Business… with some people."

"Um… uh… er…" The Hyuuga squirmed under the pressure as she struggled to find the words. Normally she would have fainted by now, but the questions roaming her mind were far too important to ignore. "I… uh… w-wanted to a-ask you about… er…"

The boy's grin vanished in a flash. "Out with it," he calmly ordered in a voice that promised pain if she didn't get to the point immediately. "I haven't got all day."

"A-about yesterday…"

An eyebrow arched. "Yesterday?"

"I s-s-saw you…"

"A lot of people saw me," he interrupted to hasten the sluggish conversation, "Get to the point."

She began recalling the images her bloodline viewed; Naruto impaling himself not once, but twice- and coming out of both acts of self mutilation like nothing was wrong. Tears began welling in her pale eyes and her voice failed.

"Waste of time," the immortal spat as he turned to leave.

In a moment of panic, the blue-haired girl shouted, "I-I saw y-you hurt yourself in your r-room!" This caught his attention, seeing as how he slowly swiveled in place to eye her with apprehension. "W-why d-did you h-hurt yourself?" her voice lowered due to the previous verbal outburst.

Naruto's azure eyes went wide when he realized that the Hyuuga girl observed the ritual in which he murdered that drunk whose foot he wounded. "_So far there's been nothing to pin the murders on me,_" he knew, "_But now…_" This was true; since so few people were aware of how the bloody ceremony worked no one could ever attribute the seemingly random killings to him. Even the aged Hokage couldn't convict him- there was always a lack of conclusive evidence and an absence of witnesses. Now that Hinata had seen him in the middle of all his glory, there was only one way to deal with her…

He approached her while calmly unhooking the strap that kept his javelin on his crimson rope belt. It was a fortunate thing this was a back road- there was no one around. "_Just the way I like it._"

"N-Naruto?" the shy girl stuttered, nervously noting that he was wielding his strange weapon against her. "W-what a-a-are you doing?"

He was nearly upon her as he raised his deadly instrument skyward for a downward jab. "Getting rid of you."

Tears began streaming down her cheeks before she fell to her knees and gripped her torso in an instinctual need to shield herself from the world. Her pale eyes gazed into the pure azure orbs of her killer to reveal sheer terror as her soft lips trembled in a futile attempt to beg for her life. Her mind was unprepared for the end to be so soon- even more so at the hands of the boy she looked up to.

But the killing blow never came. The blonde Jashin follower saw the pure horror in his would-be victim's eyes and the fear pouring off her body. His lips parted in the widest smile he had ever felt; this was the kind of terror he had always fantasized about in his dreams that had remained elusive until now. It was simply the most beautiful sight of fear he had ever seen in his life; there was no way he could extinguish it so quickly. "_I… should keep her alive,_" he concluded, "_To see this face of hers more and more…_" He lowered his weapon and leaned down to bring his face closer to hers. "Do you want to know?" he inquired with an expectant smile- he wanted to see how much of this perfect fright her features could portray if she knew the purpose of his inhuman ritual.

"I… I…" she choked, her mind unable to deal with this turn of events. Her voice failed and she couldn't utter a word.

"It's a gift from my lord Jashin," he stated, "One that allows me eternal life."

Hinata's mind went blank as her consciousness finally caught up with her and she fainted from the undue stress. Her small frame went limp and she crashed against the ground.

The Uzumaki's wide smile receded to a grin; this ravishing session of horror was over… for now. He scooped up her body and laid it against a nearby wall, all the while mightily resisting the urge to cut her pristine face. Fresh crimson blood would look stunning against her pearly flesh… that intensely adorable skin of hers…

He realized that last notion was off kilter and struck it from his mind before mentally repeating Jashin's commandments. It would not do to think this way.

Naruto continued his inward chanting as he resumed his trek to pay a visit to the Haruno household. It was time for vengeance.

--

Morisato Haruno sat comfortably in his living room. He arrived home not to long ago to an excited daughter and celebrated mildly with the girl at her acceptance into the ninja ranks. His wife was off shopping at the moment and his daughter headed out soon after his arrival to meet with some friends or bother Sasuke… either way, he had the house to himself.

Though the chair he sat upon was nice and cushy, he couldn't relax; the failed poisoning of the monster on his daughter's team weighed heavily on his mind. "_It must be the fox,_" he concluded, "_That's all it could be._"

The door to the hallway opened behind him and he knew his wife was home. "Hey sweetie," he called without glancing back. He then heard his beloved's footsteps approach from behind and turned with a smile to greet the woman…

And instead was met with the sight of the ebony-clad blonde demon that wore a perpetually cruel grin. Morisato attempted to bolt from his chair but an iron hand clamped over his throat to keep him seated as the limb's owner slowly brought his face closer.

"Hello, Mister Haruno…" Naruto addressed the would-be assassin with a wide grin.

"W-what the hell are you doing in my house?!" he gurgled as he wormed out of the fist enough to speak, "You Goddamn monster!"

The immortal chuckled. "Such an accurate description," he stated before patting down the trapped man in search of something.

"Get the fuck out!"

"Oh…" The Uzumaki began innocently as he finally located what he sought. He unearthed a vile of pristine powdery poison from the victim's clothing. "I don't think so…"

Morisato's eyes went wide. "You knew?" he sputtered, "How?!"

He smiled while clenching a fist around the glass tube. "Lord Jashin told me." The moment those words left his lips he punched the back of the chair, shattering the fragile container in his closed palm. "Now, open wide…"

What followed was perhaps the most hands-on murder the blonde had performed to date. The male Haruno struggled with all his might to keep his mouth shut while his appendages flailed in every direction to free his throat from the boy's death grip, but it was all for naught. Naruto scraped his hand as he forcibly pried open the man's jaw and bled plenty when the doomed individual bit down on the extension, but the immortal ignored the insignificant injuries with a chuckling grin as his hand bled profusely into Morisato's mouth, saturating the man with bitter poison and broken glass. After several violent minutes the boy yanked his fist free, leaving his hopeful assassin's mouth and lips a bloody mess.

The dying man, now free of the vice-like clamp, launched himself from the chair in a futile effort to escape but didn't get very far. He instantly fell to the ground and began crawling away before his body began convulsing and his lungs hacked up dark crimson blood. His life flashed before his eyes and he saw it all: his birth, childhood, later years, his wife, his daughter… and then his vision cleared to reveal his murderer.

"So," the Uzumaki said with a smile, "Spicy, isn't it?" He could see the desperation in the man's eyes and began trembling with excitement and laughter. His joviality grew as the sparkle faded from the newest victim's eyes and, seconds later, the Jashin follower cackled like a madman with his arms raised to the heavens.

"How was that, lord Jashin?!" he exclaimed mightily, "Just what you wanted, right?!" He continued to laugh until the adrenaline died; that was exhilarating! Now he understood why many of Jashin's followers preferred to hold that aspect of their lord's gifts in reserve in lieu of the good old fashioned way.

With that, he smirked one final time at the blank eyes of the fresh corpse and promptly exited the house, taking care to shut the door behind him. His only regret was that he couldn't be there when the man's wife and daughter returned. Oh, how their agony would be joyous…

--

The guards at the village gates took things easy; this time of year there was little traffic, so there wasn't much to defend from. Besides, threats were almost always spotted by the ANBU patrols outside the city walls- this duty was merely arbitrary. One of the two lazily glanced up from his magazine to find two figures strolling through the massive opening. "Hey, you!" he called and waved them over, "What's your business?"

"We don't need to go into that, do we?" the female of the pair cooed as she leaned across the simple desk. She had unusual turquoise hair that was combed to the side and wore no makeup- she was fairly pretty without it. She appeared to be in her early twenties and was donned in what could only be described as layered funeral attire held together by a loose red rope. Her clothes bulged unnaturally in odd places, but the guard was too busy being distracted by her batting eyelids and partially opened clothing; she wasn't wearing anything beneath those robes…

"We're here for a funeral," the woman's companion commented with a maniacal smile that looked all too familiar. His body structure was unassuming- a mere six feet tall and what looked to be about two hundred pounds give or take. In short, average. His brown lanky hair practically swayed in the minor breeze and he wore a sleeveless ebony shirt tucked into a matching pair of pants complete with a purely ornamental crimson rope. But what really attracted everyone's attention was the interconnecting steel cable looped around his body with various segments of the bizarre weapon welded to small scythe blades. The supposed handle of the device hung limply over his heart.

"Whose funeral?" the undistracted guard inquired with apprehension. His partner was too busy trying to sneak a peek at the apparently uninhibited woman. "Hey, what the hell?!" he expressed his shock when the aqua-haired woman suddenly reached into his fellow ninja's pants.

"That'd be yours," the woman glanced over at the surprised shinobi as she squeezed gently. With that, an insane smile spread across her face and a staff that, upon closer inspection, was actually a continuously spiraling blade shot from the sleeve of her free arm and promptly impaled the 'captured' man's heart.

"Shit!" the lone guard swore as he stood to take action. His eyes glanced at the other stranger to find a similarly crazed grin followed by the coil of blades slithering off his body then… nothing. Every major organ was pierced simultaneously by the bizarre weapon and he didn't even have time to feel the pain.

"Nice work," the woman stated with a fading smile as she retracted her buried hand. "What about the witnesses?" she inquired with a grim smile, noting the few people in the area who stared in horror and disbelief at what transpired.

The average man smiled. "Do like Naruto does. Kill all the witnesses." With that, he pulled back on the lever of his odd ranged weapon while his female companion rushed off on her own path of destruction.

And true to the Uzumaki way, there were no survivors left to testify.

--

That night, Hinata sat alone in her room embracing her pillow. She couldn't believe that the emerald-eyed boy she admired was an immortal- that simply wasn't possible… was it? "_He said it was a gift from 'lord Jashin'… but who is Jashin?_"

She raised her moist pale eyes and gazed out the window at the moonless evening. An aura of malevolence weighed on her soul, but she couldn't put a finger on why such a feeling permeated her soul. It felt as if there were some force of pure evil staring straight through her with unseen eyes.

"_But… what if he was telling the truth?_" she wondered, "_What if he is immortal? He… he would never be hurt._" She smiled humbly at that thought; at least he would be safe from bodily harm. But at what cost? His mind? His personality? His humanity? "_No,_" she tightened her grip on the unfortunate pillow, "_It can't be good; it's turned him into someone he's not._"

Her gaze intensified in the silent dark. "_No. I think Naruto is still in there somewhere… he just needs help escaping. But… no one will get close to him…_" That notion brought about a rare surge of determination in the dainty Hyuuga. "I'll do it," she whispered to no one, "Please wait for me, Naruto. I want to help you… understand you…" She placed her pillow in the correct position and laid her head down. "Please God," she murmured, "I've never asked anything of you, but… please give me the courage to help Naruto…"

--

The next day began on a positive note in Naruto's perspective. He was joyful beyond comparison when Sakura showed up with tear-stained cheeks and red eyes; she had obviously spent the previous evening bawling her eyes out. The blonde wouldn't have it any other way.

Kakashi, however, didn't see things that way. Knowing that the murderous boy wouldn't be affected by death like everyone else, he promptly adjourned the team for the day. There would be no missions for a few days or, at least, until after Morisato's funeral. The Hatake briefly wondered if the blonde would show up to desecrate the poor man's resting place but rapidly banished the thought. "_It won't do me any good to think about things I can't prevent. But still…_" he stole at glance at the Uzumaki, "_He's pretty heartless._"

The immortal decided to wander outside the town in search of victims. Anyone not within the confines of the village was far more vulnerable seeing as how the outlying towns possessed no ninjas to speak of. Besides, there was always the possibility of butchering a small town- the boy made a mental note to make that his next goal in his climb to being lord Jashin's High Priest. He started for the gates and noticed the large blood stains dotting the road when he reached the oversized entrance.

"Huh," he muttered to no one, "A massacre… and I wasn't invited?" He scowled at the lost opportunity and decided that the town slaughtering would have to wait- first he needed to find the bastards who murdered all these people and inflict some pain for not letting him in on it. This was _his_ territory, and he wanted to make damn sure everybody knew it.

He began his casual investigation at the hospital. Predictably, the staff attempted to turn him away at the door, but it was nothing a foot to the nuts or a fist to the ovaries couldn't solve. Entering the establishment, he was forced to utilize all his willpower to resist visiting every single admitted patient. This place was rife with physical torment and suffering- just the way he liked it. Minutes passed and he located the morgue and promptly entered without slowing. Grinning as he spied a tag that read 'Haruno', he continued until he located the newest batch of corpses. He stared in awe at the mix of precision piercings and brutal cuts and the gears began turning in his mind. "I've seen this before," he thought out loud before exiting the facility. He was acting on a hunch that, if what he imagined was true, meant he was no longer the lone believer of Jashin in Konoha at the moment.

He made his way to the red light district of the town. It was fairly deserted during the day, but that wouldn't matter if his gut turned out to be correct. After popping his head into several brothels and earning the curious stares of passersby and prostitutes alike, he finally found a pleasure palace that seemed a bit odd- it was empty.

Figuring that this was the place, he strolled in and began searching the rooms one by one, gradually making his way towards a constant noise at the end of the hall. He noted that each chamber was stacked with mostly naked corpses, and he finally paused before the door at the end of the corridor. He could hear shouting and moaning on the other side. "Well, here it is…"

The blonde swung the door open and was instantly confronted by an incredibly lewd scene. A young woman with brilliant turquoise hair was busy… interacting… with a man who was clearly terrified. Apparently the only way this doomed individual could perform at all was due to an adrenaline rush; he seemed to grasp the dangerous situation in which he was trapped.

The woman's head casually swiveled to view the Uzumaki and she grinned upon sight of him. "Hey, Naruto," she greeted before grasping her short spiraling blade staff, jabbing it through the unfortunate man's heart, and trembled as the action got her kicks for her.

The blonde's face blushed but did not betray any shame otherwise- he was still unused to this woman and her ways. "Asha," he addressed the fellow Jashin follower, "I see you're in town."

"Yeah," she panted, coming down from her climax, "Me and Deadman."

"Deadman?" he sneered, "That's just great." It was a good thing the day began on a high note, because it was going downhill fast.

Asha hailed from the southern countries of the continent; the traditions down there weren't as inhibited, so she led a naturally promiscuous life. She was renowned amongst Jashin's followers as the one who got off from most to her victims' deaths. It was rumored that, in addition to her unique spiraling weapon, she also carried a hollow cylindrical tube that could be used on both sexes. This device in and of itself only served to display Asha's fascination with intercourse, but it was also said to be her secondary tool of murder. Apparently, with the flick of a wrist, the device's ingrained steel barbs could be flexed outward or inward, depending on the victim's gender. In conclusion, Asha was a murderous temptress who generally put a smile on her preys' faces before ending their lives.

Deadman was another story altogether. He was far older than Asha, although no one knew by how much- Jashin's loyal aged differently than those cursed with mortality. No one actually knew the man's name either- he went by an alias. It was doubtful that even Deadman himself knew his original name by now. He was also notorious for not using Jashin's gift of the blood sacrifice to kill; rather, he preferred utilizing his cabled scythe blades for his work. It was said that on occasion, when backed into a corner, he could butcher dozens of people with a single jab to his own heart. Of course, Naruto had never witnessed this himself, but rumors about the cult's members proved to be true more often than not.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the blonde inquired dully as the attractive woman got dressed.

"Pilgrimage," she replied simply.

"What about Deadman?"

"Pilgrimage, too."

He frowned. "Why are you both here, then? We're only supposed to take pilgrimages as a group every couple of years."

"I know," she folded the second robe over her nude body and began working on the third one, "I met Deadman right outside the city gates. We're both here by coincidence."

The Uzumaki grimaced; there was nothing he could do about this. Those who followed Jashin were required to take at least one personal pilgrimage every five years or so outside of the cult's sectarian journeys. He himself hadn't been on one yet; the time when he needed to do so was drawing near.

"So how much longer are you two gonna be here?" he asked, "This is _my_ village."

"We haven't completed our kill count yet," she responded innocently, "I figured I could rack up a good number here before moving on."

Naruto's mood didn't lighten at all. Naturally, the pilgrimages of Jashin's believers were not measured in days or destinations. They were measured in blood. "And Deadman?"

"Probably the same."

He glared at her then raised a finger. "Now listen here," he lectured in a tone that promised death to the immortal woman, "This is my village- my territory. You two aren't welcome here. Rack up a few sacrifices then leave."

Now it was Asha's turn to frown. Sure, having two religious journeys coinciding in a town where a believer already resided increased the chances of said city being wiped out, but what did Naruto care? It shouldn't have made a difference to him whether or not Konoha lived or died. "_Unless…_" she thought of something. "Did you get attached to something here?" she inquired casually, attempting to bait the young boy, "You know we're not supposed to hang on to material things." Her green eyes glazed over and she chanted, "Abandon the world of the living and all things within. Life is but an illusion which leads unto death, and death is the true beginning of life."

"Blood shall be the currency unto the gates of death," the boy continued with the next verse, "And the gates shall open for all who call upon Jashin, lord and master of the underworld beneath the universe."

"And so it shall be," a voice spoke from behind the duo and Deadman strolled through the empty doorway with cabled scythes drenched in blood, "That the blood given in payment shall drive the underworld beneath the universe into the world of the living where all who believe shall live eternal."

"Amen," the trio ended the prayer simultaneously.

"I overheard you, Naruto," the unassuming killer stated calmly amidst the bloodbath that was the brothel room, "And while I understand that you want this town for yourself, you would do well not to fall into materialism. Such a thing is heresy."

"I know," said blonde nodded, "But it wouldn't be heresy for you two to move on as soon as possible. After all, it doesn't matter where you make the sacrifices, just as long as you do."

The plain newcomer smirked. "Funny, coming from a fellow believer who has yet to take a pilgrimage."

Asha snorted as she stifled a laugh and butted into the conversation before it could escalate. "Hey, hey, leave him alone. If we rack up all our kills here, he's gonna have to move in order to break even. How would you like it if we came through your territory and sacrificed everyone before you could get any?"

Deadman regarded her with haughty eyes and an unpleasant smile. "Good point," he conceded before addressing the immortal demon container again. "We'll hang around for a while and keep quiet. I know you have a way of doing things here, so we'll abide by your methods"

The Uzumaki mulled the proposal over in his mind for a minute before nodding. "Alright, by my rules only." Not even the elderly Hokage knew that Jashin's followers were designated into separate territories, the size of said areas depending on the associated believer's power and prestige. Naruto only had 'official' say over Konoha, the smallest possible district that could be appointed. While Asha and Deadman were within the city's walls, they were required by dogma to adhere to the boy's way of doing things whenever sacrifices were concerned. Everything else was fair game.

"Fair enough," the man nodded before turning to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some prayers to perform."

"Hey!" Asha called after him while tugging on the immortal blonde's clothing with her thumb and index finger, "We should have a three-way!"

The man halted before he could disappear from view, turned in place, and eyed both occupants apprehensively. "I doubt our combined lust could match yours," he stated, referring to himself and the Uzumaki.

"Oh, come on!" she whined playfully, "It'll be fun! We're all immortal…"

"I'll pass," Deadman turned her down, "I'd rather get my rituals done for the day."

A desperate smile etched across her lips and she turned to the remaining individual. "How about it, Naruto? Just you and me!"

His heart thumped noticeably faster; after all, he was still a boy in the fledging stages of puberty. And, as the female killer pointed out, they _were_ both immortal…

"I'll… pass on that too," he raised both palms against her, "I've got better things to do."

"Aw, c'mon!" she pleaded.

"_Geez,_" he mused, "_I've never seen anyone go through this much withdrawal._" Making for the door unimpeded, he denied her again. "Just go to another brothel and kill one of the workers. I'm sure none of the guys'll notice..."

--

As Naruto left he heard Asha scuffling to act on his advice. He shook his head and chuckled even though he wasn't happy these two were in town. To be sure, all of Jashin's disciples were cordial to one another, but none of them were friendly. Asha was, by far, the most outgoing of them that he knew of, and that was only because of her peculiar tastes. She herself didn't really possess any interests outside lust. "_Then again, I'm not much different. I probably like seeing the fear in someone's eyes before they die as much as Asha gets off on her victims._"

With that in mind, he noticed that the noonday sun was upon him and winced at how much time he wasted. There wasn't much of a point in travelling to a neighboring town and slaughtering its inhabitants now- he had to keep an eye on the newcomers. He turned Deadman's words over in his mind and found that he was bothered by the fact that the older man called his desire to protect his interests in Konoha heresy. "_It's not heresy,_" he assured himself, "_As long as I don't get attached to anyone or anything. It's not heresy to find pleasure in the fear of others…_"

That thought process instantly brought to mind Anko and Hinata. Of course, he chalked those two up as special due to the Mitarashi's inherent sadism and the Hyuuga's perfect terror. Little did he know that his subconscious categorized them for different reasons altogether, but he dwelled no further on that topic.

"_Speaking of Hinata,_" he mused, "_She's probably home by now. Or at least she will be in a few hours. I think I'll go see that face of hers again…_"

* * *

As always, please review to let me know what you think.

Actually, please do review. Tell me how you currently see Naruto, Anko, and Hinata in relation to each other. Let me reiterate: Please tell me how you see them currently, _not where you'd like to see them_. I already have an end planned out for each, but I need input if I'm to write convincing relationship-building... things. So please tell me what you think of those three going off of what you've seen of them so far.

Thanks a bunch. Peace out!

LOVE AND (RUM) PIE!


	3. Visiting the Hyuuga Family

Hey, ya'll. What's up?

I bring tidings of a new chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the Hyuuga mansion after a few hours; he took his sweet time getting there. There was no rush, so he traversed the scenic route. Not that he really cared for the sights- he was permanently angry at the world- but he wanted to be sure Hinata was there when he arrived; waiting around with nothing to do sucked even worse. "_Well, I could always slaughter the Hyuuga family…_" he tinkered with the giddy notion of beginning his impending pilgrimage with the self-centered clan, "_But I'd probably get caught pretty quick._"

He stepped through the impressive ivory gates and strode into the courtyard unhindered, ignoring the glares of the pale-eyed individuals. Such a task was simple for him; the blonde subconsciously despised all things arrogant, and the Hyuugas easily fell under that category. Approaching a random passerby, he inquired as to the whereabouts of a certain preteen.

"You," he stated, "Is Hinata here?"

The person's eyes dimmed. "You do not have permission to be here," he spoke, "Leave before you are escorted out."

The boy's lips cracked in his trademark grin. "What are you gonna do, kill me for trespassing?"

"I will say this one last time: leave." Others took note of the Uzumaki's defiance and began crowding around him to offer their comrade assistance.

His azure eyes glanced back and forth while his smirk didn't move. "Let me think about it…"

"There is nothing to consider," he placed harsh fingers on the boy's shoulder, "You will leave now."

He glared at the offending limb with glee. "Nah!" With that, he grasped the hand and wrenched it away. A foreign palm slammed into the back of his head and he felt a glut of charka surge into his skull. The only effect it had was his eyes rolling back into their respective sockets before he ducked and jabbed outwards with his javelin, extracting a random sample of blood.

This led to the defenders rushing him. He tucked and rolled from the fray while attempting to lick the warm plasma from his weapon while still in motion; the result was him standing humorously with a spike sticking all the way through his mouth. With a sickening squelch he yanked the spiked pole free and proceeded to mark the ground with his flowing blood, struggling to maintain balance every time a fistful of chakra plummeted into him. In seconds, the cursed seal was complete and his body morphed into the animated voodoo doll that was synonymous with Jashin's devout. The javelin traveled through his heart and the unfortunate Hyuuga fell to the ground while clutching the sudden gaping wound in his chest.

The others didn't seem to instantly grasp the situation, despite their advertised intelligence. Their arms continued to pummel the boy to no avail and they didn't halt to consider that maybe, just maybe, this intruder couldn't be taken down by their closely guarded techniques. Of course, who could? The Hyuuga Gentle Fist style was superior to all others… wasn't it?

At some point in the skirmish, Naruto's bladed rod caught a chunk of flesh and sent blood flying in a wide, graceful arc. This caught the blonde's eye and his smile widened while his wild swinging became swifter. His lungs expanded and contracted with crazed laughter at the sight of smooth slick plasma dancing in the air, growls and shouts of frustration from his attackers filling the wind. "This is great!" he yelled when his excitement peaked, "This is awesome! Thank you lord Jashin!"

"N-Naruto," a soft voice came from nowhere, "W-what are you d-doing?"

"Shit!" one of the Hyuugas panicked upon the realization that the unofficially disowned heiress was at the scene of battle, "Lady Hinata- urgh!" The bladed edge of the javelin pierced his throat and he collapsed, drowning in his own blood.

From there on the valiant efforts of the defenders fell apart; one by one the guards faltered and unwillingly allowed themselves to be injured. The blonde killer would then systematically ingest their blood and let the others strike him- they did all the damage themselves without even realizing it. In the end, there was but one man standing, and a simple jab to the boy's heart destroyed his own life-giving organ. Seconds later, the small team of men lied in an ever-widening pool of crimson glass.

"Hinata!" the Uzumaki greeted the trembling preteen, "There you are!"

Said girl fell to her knees and cradled her small frame with trembling arms in a subconscious attempt to defend herself. Her pale eyes clearly witnessed the calm killer wading through the massive puddle of blood with an inhuman smile etched into his lips, the warm fluid sticking to his sandals as he lifted his feet.

"W-w-what d-did y-you d-d-do?" she stuttered, horrified of the sight before her. "W-why d-did you k-k-kill those men?"

He knelt and immersed his hands in the blood then approached her, cupping her face with tainted palms. "I came to see your face again," he stated with a manic smile- that deep crimson gore looked so invigorating on her…

The young Hyuuga was on the verge of hyperventilating when he ran his fingers across her cheeks toward her lips. The only thing that disallowed her from fainting was sheer terror; what would he do to her if she wasn't conscious? That notion kept her awake… for now. She gasped when he ran a thumb over her lower lip and she could taste acrid copper.

Naruto was ecstatic. His arms moved like still air as he traced the thick red fluid across her cheeks and over her lips. "This is great," he whispered to himself, unaware that he was talking out loud, "So great." His hands danced up to her eyes and gingerly smeared more blood from the corners like waterfalls of deadly tears. Out of morbid fascination, his face moved closer to hers to achieve the best possible view; right now the total terror in her eyes had his full attention. "You," the tip of his nose graced hers, "Are so perfect…"

Hinata couldn't take any more and promptly passed out. Not even fear could keep her conscious at this point; simple physical contact under normal circumstances would have had her heart pounding, but now that this grotesquely pseudo-sexual moment was upon her, sleep was the only acceptable escape.

The blonde noted the sudden limpness and sighed; his fun was over… "_For now._" He started laying the girl down then thought of something. "Oh, this could be great…" he commented to no one. Hoisting the preteen off the ground, he trudged over to the large bloody puddle then gently set her down in its center. "_Oh, what I wouldn't give for a picture…_" Another idea struck him and his grin widened even further. "But a souvenir I can handle."

He smeared his bloodied hands down the center lining of her jacket, barely able to contain his excitement. His sliced heart felt as if it would burst through his punctured chest as his fingers ran along the length of her slender body as he completed the task before unzipping the stained clothing. He eased her out of the oversized jacket, mashed it to his face, and took a deep whiff, ignoring the droplets entering his lungs. "Ah…" he exhaled with a smile, "Good memories…"

"You there!" a voice interrupted his revelry, "Halt!"

"Time to book," he commented to himself, wrapping the wet jacket over his neck in a single swing. He charged out of the complex with diminishing bloody footprints. A few minutes of running through back alleys saved him from discovery, although the description of an ebony-clad blonde youth covered in gore narrowed the options considerably. He would eventually have to fix that.

He traveled home through such passageways in a hopeful attempt to remain hidden. His untimely capture would not do.

"Hey," a sly feminine voice greeted, "What's up?"

The blonde spun in place with wide eyes, relaxing when he recognized the figure on an overhang. "Asha," he sighed in relief, "Don't do that again."

"Why?" her sadistic grin prevailed, "Is there reason to worry? You're immortal…"

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her off, "It's the way I do things. Get used to it."

"Fine," she cooed with disturbing allure. "Still can't figure out why you're running from those Hyuugas, though. It's not like they can actually hurt you."

His eyes narrowed. "You saw all that?"

"Yep," her smirk withstood the conversation, "Even that girl's little 'gift'."

"What's your point?"

"You wouldn't happen to be getting… attached… would you?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Me? Attached?"

"I saw that little scene," she continued with her usually sensuous voice, "I saw the desire in your eyes and the fear in hers. You wanted her… but you didn't kill her."

"What's. Your. Point?"

"C'mon," she replied amorously, "Don't try and hide it from me. You find pleasure in the fear of your kills. I should know; all of us have special tastes…"

His arm moved to wield his sharpened javelin. "Do you _want_ me to kill you?"

She giggled. "You really think you can?"

"I did it before," he referred to the night he became a follower of Jashin, "I can do it again."

She considered smugly. "Fair enough. I don't care to die yet." Asha licked her lips and continued. "But there are some other things you can do to me."

"Forget it. Sorry I asked." He honestly wasn't into her twisted hobbies. "But you _will_ keep this from Deadman."

"Mm… but I'll need something in return…"

"How about me not killing you?"

"That won't be enough," she blinked, "How about a trade?"

His eyes narrowed. "What do you have in mind?"

She rolled off her precipice and traced a finger over his chest. "One night between two immortals."

Naruto sneered. "No." He impaled her through the stomach and pushed her to the wall, imbedding the other end of the javelin between the bricks.

The turquoise-haired immortal shivered before turning to the blonde. "You sure?" she stated with a sultry smile, "You're nailing me already…"

The Uzumaki's cheeks reddened at the implication but otherwise his features displayed annoyance. He retracted his weapon, holstered it, and laid out a compromise. "Listen, how would you like it if I took all your kills before you could have your fun with them?"

She thought about it whimsically. "That'd suck. I like playing with my victims…"

"Exactly," he nodded, "That's the situation here. Like you said, I like seeing the fear in my victims' eyes before they die, and I've never seen more perfect terror in anyone other than Hinata."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

She sighed. "Fine, but be careful that you don't get attached. Sinning against the words of Jashin would be too grave for me to let go simply because you want me to."

"Finish your business here then leave," he threatened one final time before stalking off. He was hoping to wash the blood off before it hardened on his flesh, and if that was going to happen then he'd have to ditch Asha now.

"Alright," she resigned herself to the blonde's demands as the resident immortal left her. "Hinata, huh? She was pretty cute… and he never said anything about not visiting her…"

--

Hiashi Hyuuga towered over the scene of the massacre, his cold calculating eyes burning with white hot rage at the sight of his consistently disappointing daughter smothered in the blood of his slain brethren. "Hinata!" he barked at the ashamed girl who stood before him, "What happened here?!"

The young girl desperately wanted to hide from her father's ire; not even her large jacket was left to provide a minute source of comfort. What the blonde could have wanted with it was beyond her, but she wondered if she even wanted to know. But one thing was clear to her; she was apparently the only witness who knew for certain that it was Naruto, and if she told her clan it was he who slaughtered the guards then the boy would be killed, immortal or not. She didn't want her source of inspiration to leave her; she wanted to pay back the blonde for everything he unconsciously did for her by saving him from his misguided beliefs. She swallowed and gathered her courage as best she could; this would take every ounce of willpower. "I-I d-don't know, f-father…"

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I w-was knocked un-unconscious…"

"And the intruder didn't kill or kidnap you?!" The timid preteen attempted to nod but was shut down before she could truly answer. "Instead, he lays you in the middle of all the blood and steals your clothing! You know more than you're telling me!"

"I-I don't…"

"Don't lie!" He accented his anger by backhanding the shy girl. "Why are you protecting the intruder?!"

"I-I-I'm n-not…" she began tearing up, "I-I'm n-not p-protecting a-a-anyone…"

"I gave you an order!" he hit her again, rendering her a sniffling lump on the ground. He snorted and turned on his heel. "I was right; you are truly an irredeemable failure…" Hiashi entered the mansion and left behind his weeping daughter.

As the clan head strolled through the compound, his eyes rested on a wary branch member, one whom he recognized as possessing great talent. He halted beside the individual and addressed him without making eye contact. "Find out who did this and kill him."

"What of lady Hinata?"

The heartless man considered. "If you find her protecting this person, kill her as well." With that, he continued on his way.

"Yes, lord Hiashi," Neji grudgingly accepted the order. If things turned out well, he would gain some small measure of favor in the main family while dispensing justice upon his unworthy cousin.

--

A pair of pale eyes watched intently as the mutilated corpses were hauled away amidst the miniature lake of blood. More specifically, they observed the distraught girl crying her eyes out against the dirt.

"_Are you really protecting the person who did this?_" the owner of the eyes pondered, "_And if you are… why? Who could be so important that you would defy father?_"

"Lady Hanabi," a branch member in charge of the young Hyuuga's care interrupted the internal monologue, "Please refrain from sullying yourself from viewing such disgraceful scenes."

The girl eyed the attendant and strode off; she hated how people told her what to do. "_I'll watch my sister and find out who did this myself…_"

--

Hours later, Naruto stepped out of the shower while toweling off his head; it took forever to finally wash the blood from his body! His clothes weren't an issue- ebony robes soaked up blood without leaving a trace… as long as one didn't include the smell. But that merely served to keep people away from him, a desirable effect. He tossed the towel on his bed and slipped into a fresh pair of dark pants- the other pair was still wet- and paused when a knock emanated from the door.

"_Shit, did they figure it out?!_" he wondered before grasping his javelin and holding it behind his back as he answered the door. "Hello?"

"Hey, Naruto!" a boisterous voice shouted as Anko burst into the room, "How ya doin'?!"

He sighed in relief for a second time that day. "Anko… don't do that…"

"C'mon," she slapped his shoulder with a smile, "I just wanted to- hey, what's… with the weapon?"

"Hm? Nothing." The blonde stabbed the javelin into the floor boards and shut the door. "Why are you here?"

An eyebrow rose with a hesitant smile. "Yeah, um… I brought dinner!" She produced a hefty bag, lifting it into the air triumphantly.

The immortal glared at her for a few awkward seconds before speaking, "Okay… table's over there…" He still wasn't used to being around this woman. This made what, three times in three days? And what was with all the food? Did he look malnourished or something? "_Wait, what do I care? It's a free meal!_"

Having said that, the Uzumaki plopped down on the now-crowded dining table and stared at the Mitarashi as she produced various foodstuffs from the bag. Fruits, vegetables, instant ramen, and, of course, dango. The snake charmer eyed him curiously and asked, "No shirt?"

"My house," he replied quickly. This woman might have been a fellow sadist, but he was growing weary of her presence rather quickly; Anko was rapidly approaching the boundaries of his patience. "Just took a very long hot shower."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged, boiling some water for the noodles before taking a seat across from him. "I heard about your teammate's dad," she tried to break into a conversation.

"Ah," he smirked to the side, "Yeah."

"Sorry to hear it."

"Yeah," he supposedly agreed with widening lips. "So sorry…"

That didn't sound right to her. "You… you didn't…"

He gazed at her with satisfied eyes. "And what if I did?"

"Oh, no way," she gaped, "No fucking way…"

"Have I admitted anything yet?"

"You didn't kill him, did you? Fucking hell, Naruto… did you?" She was obviously having problems wrapping her head around this.

He never broke his smirk as he bit into an apple. "Good stuff, eh?"

"What the hell?!" she stood in frustration and began pacing, "Naruto, why did you do this?! Why?!"

His smile vanished. "He tried to poison me. I returned the favor."

She cocked her head at this. "He what?"

"Did I stutter?"

"He tried to poison you? Really? When?"

He took another bite. "When you treated me to ramen yesterday. He and Ayame slipped poison into my bowl."

She paused to recall the event. Sure enough, everything added up- the teen's sudden shock, Naruto's spicy ramen… "Wait, why didn't it work?" She instantly winced at the question- she was positive the fox kept him safe.

"I'm immortal," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Wha…? How?"

"I follow Jashin," he grinned and juice dribbled down his mouth, "And he grants me eternal life as long as I serve him."

Anko couldn't believe her ears; this fellow outcast was immortal? "_Well… I guess it makes sense since he doesn't care what others think about him._" She retook her seat and gazed intently into his bored eyes. "When did this happen?"

"Long time ago."

"I got time."

The blonde stared at her for a moment then sighed in resignation. "Fine…" He casually launched into the simple history that was his life; how his treatment as a child led to his conversion, how his beliefs dictated his murderous habits, how life pretty much sucked in general with his sole pleasure residing in the pain of others…

The Mitarashi was speechless at the end of the one-sided conversation. She sat motionless for a few seconds then stood to pour the boiling water into the multiple ramen cups. After that, she placed the paper bowls on the table and reseated herself with a blank gaze. "So… what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"What now?" she repeated herself, "What's left? You're immortal, so you'll never die. What's there to live for?"

"I enjoy the fear in my enemies' eyes before they die…"

"But then what?" she interrupted, "The more you do it, the older it'll get. At some point it won't be as fun anymore, and then what?"

The blonde stared at her quizzically; he never really considered this. Yeah, sure, Anko had no idea what his life was like, but she was older- she had more experience simply because she had been around longer than him. His mind envisioned a world where killing was mundane and living wasn't much better, where everyone still despised him for who he was and he hated them back for it, and the countless eons that would pass until his constant state of boredom would finally come to a close…

…But then his loyalty would earn him a seat at the side of lord Jashin himself. The immortal's sacrifices would pave the way for his rebirth into a glorious world of inconsequential murder and he would be free to do anything! "_That would be worth it!_" he knew, "_Life everlasting!_"

"My sacrifice will be worth it," he smiled smugly; although he was personally petrified that he would have to spend millennia with nothing fun to do.

"It will?" she replied apprehensively.

"Yeah."

She shook her head at the table. "You know," she wanted to change the subject, "I don't really get it. Why kill innocent people? I mean, I know you're immortal and all, but…"

"They are not innocent!" he slammed his fist into the table. "Everyone I've ever killed deserved it! Every last one of them!"

Anko's eyes widened at the outburst. The immortal had always been so cool and collected, even if it was in an insane kind of way. This was highly out of character for him, a fact which only went to show what he really felt about the situation. "All of them…?"

"All of them!" His pupils shifted into crimson and became that of an animal's; searing hatred leaked from his sockets and weighed the room under its malevolent pressure.

The snake mistress glanced at the table to collect her thoughts before returning her gaze to the blonde. "Naruto," she began morosely to hopefully calm him, "I know you've had a harsh life and I know you have a lot of good reasons to hate everyone in the village- I know what that's like. When Orochimaru abandoned me and I returned to the village, only a few people tolerated me; the rest treated me like a traitor even though I never harbored ill will towards my home. I feel them staring at me to this day, and a lot of them piss me off so bad I want to kill them, but they don't deserve to die for being assholes."

"All the ones I've killed have tried to kill me!" He kept his rage alive.

She nodded. "I understand, and I won't try to tell you that you were wrong in taking revenge against those who deserve it, but… well, frankly, you scare away everyone who might accept you for who you are."

His breathing eased and he killed his anger a bit. "For who I am? Why should I care? I serve Jashin, and there's nothing else I need."

"Why is that? What would be so wrong with having a few good friends?"

His mood finally resumed normality. "That's heresy. Abolish all forms of weakness and embrace chaos. Affection clouds the mind and stays the killing blow. Take up hatred and abandon love."

"_Is… that a law of the Jashin religion? That's so fucked up!_" She reached forward and grasped his hand, grimacing at how he instantly retracted the limb. "Why is friendship heresy?"

He glared at her. "I just told you: it weakens the mind."

This didn't sound right to her. "Are you sure? I don't think so…"

"Get out."

"Wha…?"

"Get out!"

"Naruto, I…"

He stood so quickly his chair flew back. "I said get out! Get out of my house before I kill you!"

The Mitarashi closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and rose from her stool; the Uzumaki obviously didn't wish to continue and there was nothing she could do about that. She strode to the door, opened it, and glanced back before leaving. "Naruto," she spoke softly, "I don't know why your religion wants you to be alone, but I know it hurts to _be_ alone." With that, she exited the shoddy household and shut the door behind her.

The blonde stared after her a few moments longer. "Pff. Friends, eh? Heresy… heresy… right." He eyed the cooling cups of noodles before pulling them towards himself. "At least she left the food." Shoveling a wad of the stuff down his gullet, he realized that he had confessed to the murder of Morisato Haruno to his guest. "_Well, only one thing to do…_"

Said course of action involved a single shadow clone that would follow the woman to her home and, if need be, silence her.

--

Kakashi stood a respectable distance from Naruto's home in order to monitor his disturbing student's behavior. Imagine his surprise when- of all people- Anko Mitarashi emerged from the blonde's dwelling after a bout of yelling. Curious, he shimmered from his position and appeared near the snake charmer as she trudged home.

"Lover's spat?" he broke the ice with a bad joke.

"Huh? Oh, it's you. Get lost."

He chuckled to hide his embarrassment at being blown off. "Oh, come on now, Anko. I'm trying to be friendly here…"

"Well ain't you a nice guy. Beat it."

The Hatake decided to utilize the serious approach rather than try and ease into a conversation. "I noticed that you were with my student. Notice anything… unusual?"

She spared him a glance. "Nope," was the simple reply; she didn't know if Kakashi was aware of his pupil's religious affiliation, so she decided to keep it under wraps.

"Have you heard of the incident at the Hyuuga mansion today?" he got straight to the point.

She frowned. "No…"

"Ah, well let me bring you up to speed…"

The Mitarashi held her emotions and initial reactions in check as the silver-haired jonin informed her of the massacre earlier that afternoon. Sadly, it sounded exactly like Naruto's handiwork, but it also sounded like the deceased guards had it coming. After all, they did attack the blonde, despite him being a fellow shinobi who didn't appear to come bearing ill will. "_Well, okay, that might not be true,_" she realized that last bit might be erroneous on her part, "_But I doubt he waltzed in there just to kill a few guards._"

"So…" Kakashi concluded with an inquiry, "What do you make of all this?"

She shrugged. "It's a damn shame."

"You know, you're starting to sound like Naruto. Maybe I should keep an eye on you two…?"

"You know," she stopped and glared at the one-eyed man, "You should keep an eye on yourself! That kid's gone through enough trouble without assholes like you breathin' down his neck all the time! Maybe if you left him alone he would open up to people!"

This caught the elite shinobi off guard. "Anko, I know you went through a lot, but I assure you… Naruto's situation is complicated. You ever heard of the cult of Jashin?"

"Oh, that? Yeah, he told me all about it. He also told me about when he converted."

"He… he did?" Not even he had heard this story.

"Yeah. And you know what? It's a wonder he hasn't killed everyone in the village by now." She took a deep breath before preparing to leave the man in the dust. "I don't blame him for it, either. Not one bit."

As the Mitarashi continued home, a certain blonde clone dispersed itself in the shadows to relay what it heard to the original. Said Uzumaki straightened at his mostly complete meal when the memories flooded into his mind.

"_She stood up for me?_" he wondered, unfamiliar with the sentiment of doing such a thing for someone else, "_Why'd she do that?_"

--

Hinata rocked back and forth with her knees tucked into her arms while bathed in the moonlight. Trails of dried salty liquid stained her cheeks as her pale eyes matched the brilliant celestial satellite. "Naruto…" She stared out the window in sorrow over her beloved's unstoppable bloodlust. For a brief moment she wondered what she could possibly do to return his humanity, then a horrifying thought struck her. "_What… what if he doesn't want help? What if… he wants to remain a… a… a murderer…_" A sudden silhouette darkened her window, eliciting a gasp from the preteen.

"Hey there, Hinata…" the female figure stated wistfully, "That is you, right?"

"Um," she had no idea how to respond to that, "Y-yes?"

"Ah, you really are a cute one. Too bad you're off limits. I think."

"Uh… er… w-what?"

The individual laughed. "And so modest, too. I can see how Naruto could get used to you…"

The mere mention of the blonde's name instantly caught her attention. "Y-you know Naruto?"

Once again, that laugh resounded through the room. "You bet. And according to him, I'm not allowed to touch you… at least, not to kill you…"

"W-w-what do you m-mean?" She shuddered at the insinuation.

"Ah, but I'm sure he'd throw a fit anyway," the stranger ignored him. "But I'd like to know exactly why he fancies you. He said you have something like the perfect fear in your eyes or something like that."

"Y-y-you're not g-going to h-hurt me, a-are you?"

"Nah, tempting though."

An awkward silence passed as the Hyuuga mulled over what the stranger told her. "Y-you s-said Naruto f-f-f-fancies me?" Her stutter hit a particularly nasty snag as her brain tried to wrap around that statement. "W-what do you m-mean?"

"I meant what I said. He likes the fear in your eyes. Apparently it's the best." A yawn came through. "I'm tempted to check it out for myself, but I'm not into that kinda stuff."

"T-that k-kind of s-stuff?"

"You know, the whole getting off on terror thing. Personally, I like pleasure much more than pain." The shadow giggled upon noticing Hinata shiver. "Looks like you know what I'm talking about. I figured if you could appease him, you could appease me."

The blue-haired preteen gasped; was she hearing this woman correctly?

"But it's not looking that way, unfortunately. I don't think I'd get much fun out of it."

The girl swallowed to gather her courage; she couldn't allow herself to falter now that matters concerning her beloved were involved. "A-a-answer m-my question," she demanded nervously.

She sighed. "Good lord, you kids are pushy as hell. Fine, I'll tell you." Her head glanced at the young girl to ensure she was paying attention; she wouldn't be repeating anything. "Naruto's pretty damn close to committing heresy with you. Hell, he's already borderline sinning."

"W-what d-do you mean?"

"He's latched on to your fear in particular. Our faith in lord Jashin dictates that we are not to cling to things in the material world, and right now he's protecting you from us."

The Hyuuga blushed profusely upon hearing this. "_He's protecting me?_" But then an observation raised a red flag in her mind. "U-us?"

"Yep. Me and the other guy. We call him Deadman. I might be willing to do things Naruto's way, but Deadman might get pissed when Naruto tells him you're off limits and kill you just to make a point."

"W-why a-are y-you telling me t-this?"

The figure shrugged. "I dunno, guess I'm bored. You know," she continued with a suddenly sly voice, "I'm willing to make a deal with you…"

"A d-deal?"

"Yeah, I'll teach you everything you need to know about lord Jashin's commandments and in return…" She trailed off with a smug chuckle.

"I-in return…?"

"Let me sleep with you!" It came out more like a plea than an offer.

"N-no!" came the instant response, "W-what a-are you thinking?!"

"Guh… no one wants to screw these days…"

"W-what is w-wrong w-with you?!"

"Hey, I haven't introduced myself yet!"

Hinata was stunned at the pure obliviousness of this woman. "What?!"

"I'm Asha," she waved through the streaming moonlight, "What's up?"

--

Early the next morning, the Hyuuga heiress awoke and left the mansion, oblivious to the two trailing her. Her conversation with Asha the previous evening had been revealing, and while she was hesitantly relieved that the oversexed woman claimed that she would be left alone, the blue-haired girl was intensely worried about this 'Deadman' character. Apparently, unlike Naruto and Asha, Deadman reveled in the actual act of killing rather than any of its accompanying side effects. According to the temptress, she had to avoid shadowy places and stick to public roads if she valued her life; Deadman would operate by the Uzumaki's methods- that is, to kill without witnesses.

Hinata swiftly scaled the steps to the blonde's apartment and stood before the door with a heaving chest; she was nervous. Desperately slowing her breath, she forced her heart rate to safe levels and knocked. Her heart almost stopped when it finally opened to reveal a shirtless Naruto clutching his trademark javelin.

"Why am I so damn popular?" he whined as the door swung. His eyes brightened upon seeing her and his lips cracked into a sick smile. "Hinata! Back for more?"

"Um… uh…" she stammered while tapping her fingers, "I-I came t-t-to talk with y-you, Naruto…"

His smirk held steadfast as he stepped aside and cleared an imaginary path with his unique weapon. Hinata nervously strode in, her pale eyes rapidly scanning the shoddy apartment. The place was humble, bordering on rundown with the walls and floor dotted with stains that stunk of old blood. For that matter, the entire place reeked of the natural liquid; this was more like a crime scene rather than a place where someone lived. The Hyuuga made her way into the space that served as the living room and turned to look the blonde in the eye, put off by the fact his pleased facial expressions hadn't changed since he allowed her passage.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Y-yes!" she yelped.

"About…?"

"Um… I… er… I met Asha last n-night."

His mood died. "What?"

"Yes," she nodded, "S-she c-came to my w-window last n-night…"

"Damn it!" he swore and stomped around in a distracted circle before returning to the girl. "Did she do anything to you?! I swear I'm gonna kill her if she did…!"

"She didn't! S-she said she j-just wanted t-to meet m-me…"

He eyed her apprehensively. "Is that it? No threats?"

Her cheeks burned deep crimson and her eyes turned downwards. "R-right… no th-threats…"

"Ah," the Uzumaki nodded. He could tell by Hinata's reaction that Asha offered to make some kind of 'deal' with her. "Anything else?"

"S-she told m-me about D-Deadman and a-about some k-k-kind of h-heresy."

He frowned; there was that abominable word again. "What heresy?" He had to know.

"S-she didn't s-say."

The blonde glared at her for a moment, wondering why Asha walked such a thin line in his territory. "_One thing's for sure, though; Deadman must never catch Hinata alone._" His eyes rolled in their sockets and found the special souvenir he took from the girl, his lips splitting apart in glee at the memory. "You want your jacket back?"

"Huh?" This caught her by surprise. "I-if y-you d-don't mind…"

He contemplated seeing her in that tainted clothing for a moment then walked off to retrieve it. After doing so, he tossed it back to her and she yelped at the sight of crimson painted beige flying at her as her dainty arms rose to catch it. "W-what h-happened to i-it?"

"You can have it back on one condition," he approached her, practically raping her personal space with his manic grin. "You'll wear it whenever I want. Deal?"

She gazed at him with startled eyes, badly confused on what to do. Her initial instinct was to drop the soiled jacket and refuse his offer; what would people think if they saw her, a Hyuuga, freely wearing bloodstained garments? And what of potential diseases? She wasn't immune to sickness like he was. But on the other hand… "_This could be the first step in saving him. If I do this, I'll be able to make him happy… and if it makes him happy then he might listen to what I have to say…_" Swallowing her nonexistent pride and fear, she shakily removed her current overcoat then slowly donned the bloodied coat, wincing at the reason behind the stiffness in the sleeves. Once it was fully on, her arms fell to her sides and she gazed at the blonde who beamed at her with insane happiness.

The boy approached her, once again demolishing any notion of personal space. His arms rose and his fingers moved upwards as they caressed her sides before ending at her jaw line. Naruto's warm breath graced her pale face as his smile parted and a spot of drool dripped from his lips at the sight. Normally, Hinata would be hyperventilating by now and her eyes would be screaming in fright, but this time was… different. The blonde cocked an eyebrow and backed up a bit in an attempt to understand what was missing. "What happened to you? Why aren't you afraid?"

"I-I'm n-not afraid…" she lied. She was truly scared, but this time the strength of her resolve was enough to help her stand fast against her horror and reduce it in the process. That, or she was becoming acclimated to the immortal's uncomfortable advances.

"Really," he frowned, grasped his nearby javelin, and leveled the bladed end at her stomach. "Maybe it needs a… personal touch." What happened next truly surprised him.

The young Hyuuga gently grasped the edged weapon at her gut and centered it with her small body. "W-would that m-make you h-happy, Naruto?" At this point, she was operating on auto pilot while her mind was shrieking at her. "_What am I doing?! I don't want to die!_"

Naruto stared at the preteen for a solid minute as the gears turned in his mind. What happened to his favorite prey? Was she no longer susceptible to the same perfect fear she normally exhibited so well? His eyes widened when Anko's prediction of killing becoming mundane came to mind; was it happening already? He had only found perfect terror in the Hyuuga a short while ago- was it gone already? "_That can't be,_" he denied, "_Is the best life has to offer already over?_" A moment later, something snapped in his mind and he retracted the weapon to promptly replace it with a fist grappling Hinata's jacket and yanking her within inches of his face. "What happened to you?" he growled, "You were scared out of your mind when I killed those guards, and you weren't even in danger! But now that I'm threatening your life, you're not terrified like before! Why?! Where did it go?!"

"N-N-N-Naruto," she choked through an onslaught of tears that begged for release, "Y-you're h-hurting me!"

His enraged eyes glared into her frightened orbs for an eternity in an attempt to decipher what went through her mind. To be sure, there was fear, but it was no longer pure. Now it mixed with something akin to pain- an obvious byproduct of his harsh grip- and what looked to be determination. "_What could this be?_" he honestly wondered, "_Did she come here to appease me? No, that's not it… she said she wanted to talk, and now she's going along with my… suggestions… without resisting. Why did she come here in the first place? Is she really no longer as afraid as before?_"

"N-N-Naruto?" her genteel voice broke him from his revelry.

He sneered and released her before stalking away with heavy steps, his gaze still locked on her as he circled the stationary preteen. "Why are you really here?" his malevolent azure eyes narrowed.

Hinata blushed as her resolve faltered and her fingers began their nervous habit. "Um… I…" her apprehensive gaze lowered to the ground as she tried to find the words.

"Out with it," the blonde demanded after a few unsatisfactory seconds.

"I w-want to save y-you!" she yelped, buckling under the unseen pressure exuded from the boy. "I… I want t-to save you…" she repeated quietly.

Naruto's head shot back and he openly laughed at her. "Save me?! What makes you think I need saving?!"

She retreated into her bloodied overcoat. "I… you… y-you aren't the s-same as b-before…"

His joviality died and he stared at her with… confusion? Apathy? Sadness? She couldn't tell, but the change intrigued her. "I'm not the person I used to be. I'm a monster now, and there's no going back for me."

"A… m-monster?"

"That's right," his grin began replacing itself as he continued, "A monster, a killer, a cold-blooded murderer. I gave up my humanity a long time ago." His eyes widened and his smile accompanied them in a manic smirk. "I am nothing but lord Jashin's servant now!"

The Hyuuga gazed at him with softened eyes. "_He was… sad… for a moment._" Her lips parted and she spoke gently. "N-Naruto, I… I don't th-think that's t-true. I-I think t-there i-is s-still some kindness i-in you."

His crazed smile melted and was replaced by a cocked eyebrow; this was new. Someone believed in him? "_As if…_" the immortal thought. "Why?"

"B-because… I… I… a-a-admire y-you…"

He raised his brow in surprise; she admired him? She _admired_ him? "_What the hell? No one admires me, no one. How could someone like her look up to me of all people? I don't get it…_" Thoughts of Anko sticking up for him the previous evening flooded his mind, serving to confuse him further. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by another knock at the door. "Oh, what the fuck?!" he shouted in annoyance; he was sick and tired of so many damn visitors.

Ignoring Hinata's startled gaze, he gathered up his javelin, strode to the door, and swung it open without restraint. He was instantly greeted with a pair of eyes similar to those of the blue-haired girl. "Another Hyuuga, eh?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," the owner of the white eyes coldly stated, "You are responsible for the slaughter of the guards at the Hyuuga mansion yesterday, were you not?"

The blonde grinned at the accusation. "You better believe it," he jerked a thumb at his proud face, "And you are…?"

Hinata yelped when she caught a view of the new guest and her hands went for her mouth. "N-Neji!"

Said teen eyed the girl hatefully. "Hinata. I see you _were_ lying to lord Hiashi. For that, you shall be punished."

"Hey asshole," the Uzumaki grew impatient, "I asked you a question."

"I believe you overheard my name from my cousin, Naruto."

The immortal glared daggers at the arrogant boy. "And you came to me. What do you want?"

"On lord Hiashi's orders, I am to punish you and Hinata for the crimes of murder and conspiracy."

"And that punishment is…?"

The older boy released the barest of smirks. "Your actions are punishable by death…"

Naruto felt his lips widen again; maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

And now marks the beginning of Naruto's... reintegration into society. Will it be easy? Will it be hard? Will it be done at all? Only time will tell...

Anyway, leave plenty of reviews please. Also, brutally honest constructive criticism is encouraged!! Seriously, let me know what you like and dislike and then tell me why! It helps!

Alright, well that's it for now. 'Till later...


	4. Death of a Hyuuga!

Phew! Over 8,000 words. Enjoy!

Actually, I'm kinda glad I have this fic. I've been hitting a bit of a slump in my main one and this provided the icebreaker I needed. So enjoy!

Er... I might have said this before, but if I haven't, I will now. In addition to extreme violence and swearing, there will also be many, many allusions to sexual intercourse (what'dya think Asha was here for?). So there you have it.

* * *

Hanabi hid behind a corner while silently observing her elder cousin Neji confront Naruto and her sister. The young Hyuuga had noted her sibling rising earlier than usual that morning and followed her on a gut feeling in the hopes of understanding why the shy heiress was defending the person behind her clansmen's murders. She was surprised to find Neji approach the door since her fledging bloodline hadn't noticed the skilled youth; her abilities were still developing.

"_But to think she was protecting Naruto,_" she pondered, "_Why would she hide a murderer's identity?_"

Her opal eyes widened upon witnessing Neji burst into the room in an attack. "_What's going on?!_" She panicked and moved from her position without purpose. One part of her mind urged her to watch the fight while another screamed at her to run. The end result was a young Hyuuga squirming back and forth in indecision. "Uh… er… uh…" She felt a presence land behind her and turned to face it.

"A Hyuuga, eh?" the looming figure curiously stated, "And she's watching Naruto…"

"Who are you?" she inquired innocently. This person was scary…

The intimidating man's smile resembled a certain blonde's. "You don't need to know…"

--

"N-N-Neji!" Hinata yelped from her corner. The arrogant boy burst into the room the instant he claimed himself to be her and Naruto's executioner. The skirmish between the immortal and the prodigy took up much of the apartment, and holes were already decorating the walls.

"What a great way to start the day!" the Uzumaki exclaimed while wildly swinging his javelin. Every attempt to stab the intruder failed miserably at the hands of the Gentle Fist style.

"_What is this?_" Neji wondered as his strikes cleanly landed; no matter how much chakra went into each jab, the blonde didn't seem to slow. "_No matter, he cannot use chakra anyway…_"

And so the lethal dance continued. Naruto slashed madly at the arrogant boy to no avail while the Hyuuga's harsh palms did nothing. The immortal grasped the spiked end of his weapon and swung the bladed javelin as a sword, digging trenches into his walls as his insane laughter grew with every swing. Neji's attacks were far more accurate, but his rate of success was abysmal.

"How are you still moving?" the pale-eyed youth stated as he slapped away the oncoming weapon once again, "Your chakra should have been completely sealed long ago."

"I'm just that good!" Naruto shouted gleefully as he spun on his heel to bring his blade back again.

"I believe you are mistaken," he retorted calmly, "You possess little skill, much like my cousin cowering in the corner."

The blonde frowned in mid-swing. "What?"

"You are a failure who must resort to fanaticism in order to survive." He ducked. "You rely on nothing but pure luck…" He ducked again. "…And this will always be true." He ducked a third time. "You will always be a failure."

At this point, Naruto's wild swinging grew into a frenzied barrage. "A failure, huh?!" his guttural voice repeated, "Pure luck?! Fanaticism?!" He raised his weapon over his head and brought it down to stab the Hyuuga and instead buried it in the wall. "You son of a bitch!"

Neji grinned in self-satisfaction. "Your insults only prove your incompetence."

"I don't give a fuck!" The blonde yanked the bladed spear from his wall, jabbed, and missed again while his azure eyes began to shift. The pupils twitched and became flooded with a deep primal crimson, like gentle water flowing down the drain with blood following in its wake. "You arrogant asshole!" He threw his arm out to swing the javelin, but the angle would have passed the blade through the subdued Hinata's throat, so his enraged mind sent the message to his limb and he avoided killing the frightened girl by a fraction of an inch.

This was not lost on the self-proclaimed genius. "_He's avoiding Hinata._" A smirk grew on his lips as an idea struck him. He spun on his heel, yanked the poor girl from her upright cowering position, and then trapped her arms behind her back and held her in a headlock from behind. All it would take was one jerk of the arm and her small neck would snap like a twig. "I find this ironic; one failure protecting another."

Naruto's feral eyes screamed hatred; how dare this arrogant prick touch what was his! His enraged mind didn't consider why this was a bad thing- all he knew was that if Hinata was to die, it would be by his own hand on his own time. "Let her go!" he growled, "She's mine!"

"You are in no position to make demands."

"And neither are you!" He aimed his javelin at Hinata's stomach but kept his gaze level with Neji. "You kill her, I kill you."

"N-N-Naruto!" the younger Hyuuga squeaked, her terrified eyes struggling to view the bladed edge held against her.

"You will not succeed," the arrogant boy stated calmly, twisting his arm a bit and causing Hinata to squirm in his grasp. "Her body will slow the blade before it can reach me."

The blonde's face broke into a sick smile. "Not if you know where to aim!" With that, he plunged the weapon straight through both Hyuugas in a single motion. He instantly removed the double-edged spear, grabbed Hinata as she fell forward, and jabbed at a stumbling Neji.

The pale-eyed boy barely managed to avoid the follow-up attack but crashed into the wall to his back before sliding away and smearing a trail of blood across the apartment. "_What the hell?! I thought he was avoiding Hinata?!"_ He willed his Byakugan active and glanced at said girl as she was laid on the Uzumaki's mattress. "_He… avoided any vital points?!_"

Naruto gently set the ailing preteen on his bed. "Keep pressure here," he pressed her hand over the wound and pushed down. He looked into her eyes as her chest heaved with chaotic breath and noted her fear, but this time he felt… preoccupied, like this was no time for reveling in her fright. "Good thing I know my anatomy," he commented to the intruder with his trademark manic grin. "You, however, are taller, so your wound isn't quite so insignificant…"

Neji smirked with a wince. "This is nothing," he defied the preteen, "You merely took advantage of the situation." The immortal rushed at him with the javelin in a wide swing, so he merely stepped aside. But when the enemy slammed into the wall, he frowned when Naruto rotated his head in place- tongue first- across the blood smeared on the wall. "What are you doing?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Sealing your fate." With that and a smile, the boy scrubbed the floor with a few heavy droplets of the natural fluid, painting the creaking wooden beams in dark crimson. Soon enough, his legs stopped rotating and planted themselves in the center of the bloody circle. He smirked. "Behold the power of lord Jashin!"

"What are you- gah!" His left arm erupted in a rosy shower before he could question the blonde's sudden transformation.

Naruto merely smiled with wide eyes at the older boy's newfound injuries. "Hope you prayed today," he stabbed his leg and sent the Hyuuga to a knee, "'Cause your not leaving this room alive." His arm retrieved the javelin then jabbed it into a lung, prompting him to shiver with the ensuing endorphin rush. When Neji's respective lung collapsed and he gasped for air, the blonde waltzed over to him, unsheathed a handful of kunai, and then nailed him to the wall by the arms. "You stay here," the immortal commanded as he took up his choice weapon and made his way to Hinata. He scooped up the wounded girl despite her instinctual protests and strolled for the door, but not before shooting a final glance at the pale-eyed captive. "Don't dirty the place up…"

As the Uzumaki charged from the apartment, a pair of eyes followed the immortal and Hyuuga as they departed for a new destination.

"Naruto…" a dark voice mumbled, "What are you doing?"

"L-l-let m-me g-g-go," Hanabi whispered, her pain far too extreme to allow for speaking above a hush. "P-please…"

"Pff, as if." The looming figure hefted its elongated weapon over the shoulder and the young girl followed, since one of the device's blades was wedged between her heart and a lung. "I'll finish you off once I figure out why Naruto hasn't killed that other Hyuuga."

"P-please… l-let me g-g-go… m-mister…"

The individual glanced back with a manic grin. "That's mister Deadman to you, girl."

--

The Konoha hospital bustled with activity, a good or bad sign depending on one's point of view. It was good business for the medical staff- there was now a surplus of work to be done and it filled everyone's time, which translated into higher paychecks. On the other hand, it meant there were far more attacks and deaths occurring in the village.

The latter was the prevalent truth; out of all the separate branches of the facility, the morgue was filling more rapidly than it could process corpses. The stench of death permeated the other wings, and standard autopsies were no longer top priority due to the necessity for space. The hospital staff knew from the influx of mutilated bodies that something was happening in Konoha; there had never been so many murders in such a short time. There were even patterns to the killings- the first influx was obviously from the red-light district, seeing as how so many of them were prostitutes and their clients. Even the injuries themselves suggested at least two additional perpetrators; there was no longer a single puncture or slash wound in the majority of the corpses.

But all that became moot when the overall volume level of the front lobby went up a few notches upon the arrival of a certain blonde. "Yo!" Naruto shouted with the wounded Hyuuga in his arms, "Dickwads! Got someone here!" He received a few glares in reply and sneered. "Do your damn jobs or I'll do it for you!"

A few orderlies swallowed their disgust and attended to the boy, relieving him of the blue-haired heiress. One of them stayed back and glared at him as Hinata was taken away. "What happened?"

The blonde felt like splitting the woman's skull in two but decided against it. "Dunno," he lied, defiant to the end, "Found her like that." His eyes rotated in his skull towards the morgue and he smiled. "There's been a lot of new attacks, right? Probably one of those…"

The woman grimaced then followed after the heiress to do her job. She unconsciously knew the dark boy was involved, but she possessed no proof of it, and thus had nothing on him. But that didn't stop her from giving him the evil eye before disappearing from view.

Naruto watched after the group for a moment longer with an unsatisfied gaze; he resented the idea that he had to hand over the girl to people he hated, but what choice did he have? Sure, he could have stopped the bleeding and dressed the wound himself- he knew that Hinata's injury wasn't serious- but then what kind of alibi could the shy girl produce that wouldn't incriminate him? Besides all that, Neji was about to go missing…

He grinned at that notion and the invisible bubble around him widened a fraction of an inch. "_Almost forgot about him…_" His legs swiveled in place and he trudged home with a murderous purpose.

But as the boy rapidly strolled through town, Deadman watched him from the shadows with Hanabi still alive and impaled on the weapon strapped over his back. The older immortal's eyes narrowed upon viewing his comrade's actions. "_Did he just save that Hyuuga girl?_" His mind offered an answer to his inquiry and he sneered. "_Don't tell me he's gotten attached to her. If he has, I'll have to fix that…_"

--

The blonde in question arrived home with a foot planted to his door. He made a beeline for an unconscious Neji who hadn't budged from his painful position and smashed a fist into the older boy's gut. The Hyuuga awoke with a deep hack and bloody spittle.

"You!" Naruto shouted in the captive's face, "You walk into my home and bust it up without thinking about consequences?!"

Neji looked at him with weary pale eyes. "You… are a monster…"

This pleased the immortal; his lips split into a sick grin. "Tell me something I don't know. Now," he continued and his smile evaporated, "Who sent you to kill me?"

"I… will not… tell you- argh!" The Uzumaki elicited some more pain by jamming the javelin into his stomach.

"I'll gut you like a fish if you don't interest me." The Jashin follower grasped the imbedded blade in a manner threatening to slice open Neji's abdomen. "Now, interest me. Who sent you?"

"L-lord Hiashi…"

"Good," he nodded with a smile. The pain contorting the Hyuuga's face wasn't like Hinata's, but it was fine nonetheless. "Now, why Hinata too? She's a Hyuuga…"

"She…" he gasped, "Is a failure… she… protected your… identity… so… I was ordered to… kill her as well…"

Once again, Naruto's smirk vanished. "A failure, eh? That's what you think?"

Despite the pain, the doomed boy managed a chuckle. "It is not… just me. Lord H-Hiashi ordered me to…"

"Who is this 'Hiashi'?" the blonde demanded, tightening his grip on the imbedded weapon.

"He is… the clan head…" Neji gasped for air, "And Hinata's… father."

The immortal's eyes widened as far as they could go. "_Her dad?_" he pondered in shock, "_Her own dad ordered this fuck to kill her? His own daughter?!_" His eye twitched; this scenario was familiar- it brought back memories. He recalled his childhood- the days when he couldn't walk the streets at night and suffered the undue hatred of everyone around him, the birthdays where he barely survived the 'visits' of inebriated others, every single brazen attempt on his life…

The Uzumaki leaned closer to the screwed teen's face and whispered, "Lord Jashin will consume your soul. Have fun in hell." With a violent jerk, the boy wrenched the bladed javelin across Neji's belly to expose the innards. A waterfall of blood and intestines gushed to the floor, but those were nonessential organs- the Hyuuga was still alive, albeit by a thread. The blonde sneered at the blank eyes then jammed his arm into the wound. He wormed the limb into the chest cavity, grasped the failing heart, and jerked the living organ from Neji's body. The victim ceased moving and bled out in a matter of seconds.

Naruto then turned in place with angry eyes locked onto the heart. "Hiashi, huh?" he murmured. Fires of a rage he hadn't felt in years built in his chest and his grip tightened until the fragile organ popped in his fist. "Trying to take what's mine, you white-eyed fuck?! You're dead!" He yanked the weapon from the fresh body then marched out the door, oblivious to the blood smeared across his shirtless body and the crimson smears his footsteps left behind.

--

It was a pleasant day thus far. Hiashi was calmly seated in one of the many gardens dotting the estate, his thoughts every bit as light as the air. These were incredibly rare moments, and he treasured them dearly. They reminded him of his late wife, the love of his life. Sadly, every time he thought of her he was reminded of his children, and this always soured his mood.

He was grateful enough to have at least one competent daughter, but Hinata was a horrific disappointment. He knew for a fact that his heart grew cold after the death of his wife, but he couldn't help how he felt. His wife was strong and gentle all at once- an unusual combination of qualities in any woman. Hinata reminded him very much of her mother, at least in appearance. Her mannerisms were also similar, but not by much. Other than that, the two were nothing alike. Hiashi always scowled whenever Hinata was involved; how could one blessed with so much be so talentless? She possessed his genes as well as her mothers; she should have been strong and courageous, she should have been a budding leader, she should have been the best of the best.

"_But she isn't. She is worthless. It is better that her life be cut short than to extend her misery. A mercy kill… what is that?_" He paused when sounds of an intruder filled his ears, followed closely by the shouts and screams that usually accompanied warfare. With purpose in his movements, he stood to his feet and swiftly made his way towards the commotion. Branch members rushed to and fro in a panic, some with injuries that would effectively end their shinobi career. After an eternity of minutes, he approached the front garden that adorned the gates to the compound. "What is this?!" he demanded, finding bodies and blood smeared everywhere.

A certain blonde stabbed through one of the many guards then regarded the clan head with angry eyes. "You Hiashi?!" he inquired over the din of groans emanating from the wounded.

"I am," he called back, silently observing the chaotic scene. "I presume you are responsible for yesterday's attack?"

"Yeah," Naruto eyed the badly injured victims and began painting the dirt beneath him in the tradition symbol of death. "You're Hinata's dad, right?!"

Pale eyes narrowed at the mention of their failed daughter. "I am." He cocked an eyebrow when the Uzumaki completed a seal of some kind and then promptly drank the blood oozing from his drenched javelin.

"Why do you wanna have her killed?!" The immortal approached the family head away from the shelter of his murderous mark.

"She is a failure and she defended a murderer. For a Hyuuga, there is no greater disgrace."

"There's where you're wrong, old man!" He brandished the weapon and spat blood before the older man's feet. "She is mine, and anything that's mine is perfect!" He rushed the white-eyed ninja and struck at him with the javelin.

Hiashi easily deflected the attack and retaliated. His palms slammed into the boy dozens of times before relenting, and then he stepped back and fell into position for another move. He didn't expect any though- the boy's main points were sealed without any effort.

Naruto stumbled back from the force of the blows and his eyes lit up with unseen fire. He rushed the man again, this time swinging his weapon as a sword. Once again, he was met with a flurry of open palms that itched upon contact. His feet held him in place, and he felt like he should have been enjoying this fight, but he couldn't. He tried to force a madman's smile, but it never lasted.

"I see Neji has failed," Hiashi commented as he came forward to deliver the final blow. He dropped into the proper stance and initiated the Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin technique. His arms delivered the blows like a mighty waterfall; fluidly and brimming with innate power. The boy took the full force of everything; it was like he resigned himself to being beaten to a pulp. Hiashi knew that the final blow would be fatal, and he grimaced in annoyance when he slammed his palm into the Uzumaki's forehead. "_This will do it,_" he concluded. His eyes widened when this wasn't the case.

The immortal sneered and glared at the man with eyes that grew in fury. "Is that it?! Is that the best the Hyuuga can do?!"

"_Impossible!_" He fell back and assessed the situation. "_I hit every one of his vital points. He should be dead. No…_" he concluded, "_It must be the fox keeping him alive._" He focused his bloodline eyes on the young murderer and found the highest concentration of chakra. "_His stomach. That's where the fox is sealed._"

The blonde stomped the ground during his stride, his heavy footsteps displaying his mounting anger. "Neji… you… this whole damn clan!" He wielded his sharpened javelin like a mock swordsman. "You're all so fucking arrogant! I'll kill all of you! Women, children, every last one of them!"

Hiashi frowned for but a moment; the Uzumaki wanted to kill the Hyuuga but keep Hinata alive? He attributed this contradiction to the rage he felt before him, and he prepared a special seal in his hands for the fox. "_This seal is ancient, passed down through generations. To think its first use in hundreds of years will be against the demon boy._" He charged forward with fingers prepared to mutilate the seal that kept the fox in check.

The blonde killer noted the Hyuuga's advance but made no effort to dodge. He took the brunt head on and felt a bizarre tingling on his stomach. It was immediately followed by a sharp jolt of pain, but he brushed it off and reached for the man's arm with the intent of removing it from the body.

Hiashi leapt back and frowned; he couldn't determine if the ancient family seal worked. This irritated him greatly. "_Have I done it? Is the fox separated from the boy?_" He didn't have time to consider this further- a claw grasping his wrist suddenly burned his flesh to ashes and he winced at the sudden pain.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow; his extended arm was covered in… chakra? He had never seen anything like it before. It covered the appendage and bubbled like crimson water. Furthermore, it extended farther than his own arm and held the older Hyuuga in place like an iron vice. "That's different," was all he had to say before yanking his arm back. The ethereal limb imitated the motion and Hiashi was jerked towards him. The boy quickly slashed at the man with his weapon, and it didn't even stir his pleasure when the clan head didn't avoid enough of the attack.

The arrogant man fell back once again and ran a finger over the shallow wound on his side. "You possess great luck," he stated coldly, "But that will not last forever."

"Fuck you," the blond replied before licking the tainted weapon. Hiashi's blood was filtered into his system and he ran back to his murderous seal. He turned in time to find the older man following- apparently, that seal caught the enemy's attention. His flesh instantly reacted and morphed in time for the Hyuuga to slam a palm into his stomach once again. He spat blood but cracked a grin when his attacker did the same.

"W-what is this?!" the pale-eyed leader couldn't believe it. It was as if he slammed a Jyuuken into his own gut. "What trickery is this?!"

"Divine punishment!" he announced before barraging his right leg with the javelin. His lips parted in an angry smirk when the opponent fell to the ground, his own leg bleeding with identical injuries. Naruto then attacked his other leg and followed it up by piercing his arms along random intervals. The Hyuugas who were previously wounded wailed and died in agony- the immortal had ingested their blood earlier in lieu of a mass simultaneous slaughter. The blonde strode from the safety of Jashin's gifted seal and approached the prone man. He reached down, pulled the man's head back by the hair, and brought his face within inches of Hiashi's. "Lord Jashin will consume your soul as well. Say hi to Neji for me."

The defeated man's eyes widened when he realized that the end was nigh. "Y-you… monster!"

"You asked for one," he released him and walked back to the deathly seal, "And you got one. For lord Jashin!" With that, he jabbed the sharpened steel rod through his heart and shuddered at the endorphin release. Everyone not already dead lurched forward, gave one final shriek, and then passed away with a gurgle, leaving Naruto standing amidst a garden of bloody flowers and gory stones. His bare chest heaved as his breath calmed; his anger at the arrogance of the Hyuuga had subsided with said man's death, and he felt no particular joy in this killing. "_Damn it, was Anko right? Is this already getting old?_"

"Yo!" a cheery voice interrupted his negative revelry.

The Uzumaki turned to find Asha sitting atop the bloodstained outer wall. "What do you want?"

"Is that any way to greet someone who's about to tell you something?" She giggled in that alluring way she did.

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"Ah, now should I tell you or not?" She hobbled to her feet and began walking along the wall's edge. "You never give me anything in return…"

"You can have the Hyuuga family."

She stopped and considered. "Really?" she cooed, "Even that cute little one in the hospital?"

His eyes narrowed. "She's mine. Don't touch her."

Asha shrugged and commented further with a smile. "And you say you don't have any attachments…"

"Don't. Touch. Her. She's mine."

"Fine, fine," she held up her palms. "I'll take your offer."

"What were you going to tell me?" He knew it couldn't be good, and normally he wouldn't have cared. But something in the way the temptress said it…

"Deadman's visiting the hospital right now. Seems he saw you and 'your' Hyuuga- hey!" She yelped in surprise when Naruto took off without a word. "Ooh, a heresy I smell…"

"You!" a voice broke her from her musings. The courtyard was filling with guards. "Come down from there!"

"Ooh…" she cooed at the sight of so many men and women, "They're all so young… thank you, Naruto!"

--

The blonde Jashin follower couldn't believe it; after everything he went through with Neji, was his source of perfect terror to die at the hands of a fellow immortal? "_Deadman, if you touch a single hair on her, I'll kill you…_" It struck him as… odd… that he didn't want Hinata to die so soon. "_She's mine to kill,_" he assured himself, "_Not his!_" His legs pummeled the ground and he sailed through the streets, ignoring the shocked glares of those who noticed his gashed and bloody torso. Crimson liquid soaked into the earth with every footstep and arced into the air with grotesque grace as it flowed off his body like so many droplets of rain.

"Naruto!" a familiar voice sounded off from behind him, "What happened to you?!"

He averted his eyes to find Anko running alongside him and wondered why worry was plastered across her features. "Doesn't matter! Gotta get to the hospital!"

"Naruto!" She swung around to his front and stopped him in his tracks with outstretched arms against his shoulders. "What happened?! Why are you wounded?!"

"Hyuugas," he sneered, "Now get out of my way! I gotta get to the hospital!"

"Why?" Her voice toned down.

The blonde's left eye twitched in annoyance, but then he noted that the Mitarashi didn't appear angry. Rather, she looked… worried? Concerned? "I gotta get Hinata out of there," he replied slowly, attempting to stem his temper, "She's about to die."

The snake charmer eyed him for a moment. "_Hinata Hyuuga? She's gonna die? Is he gonna kill her…?_" She read the look he gave her and decided otherwise. "_No. He's… concerned. He's going to save her…_" She shot him a bright smile and released him. "Then let's go."

He wondered about the sudden change in temperament, but decided that it wasn't important. "Stay outta my way if you don't want to die…"

--

This was a major disappointment; didn't Konoha have any worthwhile ninjas? Better yet, why was their place of healing so poorly guarded? The many halls of the establishment were smeared with blood and gore, and the fresh mutilated corpses of people from all walks of life littered the floors on every level below the target room… wherever that may be. "_I haven't had things so easy in years!_" He felt a squirming in his free arm and glanced down in irritation. "Quit it, or I'll kill you right now."

"P-p-please… h-help… m-m-me…" Hanabi gasped for air. She was losing blood, but not enough to put her in shock or die anytime soon. But that didn't mean the pain wasn't immense.

"Shut up." He knocked her head against the wall and rendered her unconscious. "And don't die yet. I feel like killing two Hyuugas at once." He continued on his way, tossing his bizarre weapon around two ninjas who burst from a room behind him in a poorly executed flanking maneuver. The many scythe blades dug into their skin and tore them apart upon the jerk of the steel cord. "Weak," he smirked, "But lord Jashin is pleased."

The murderous immortal went through every room he could find. Most were occupied by patients suffering from a variety of illnesses; fever, strep throat, cancer, recent battle wounds, and many more. But it didn't matter in his eyes- they all died as easily as the last. It wasn't difficult by any stretch of the imagination. All it took was a few whips of the arm from the doorway and the attached rope of curved blades did the rest. He continued on the killing spree and scaled another floor, decapitating a handful of ninjas and the orderlies who got caught in the crossfire with a boisterous smile. "_Today's a good day..._"

He approached the first door on the new floor, kicked it in with his usual bravado, and grew a smile; he found his target. Before him lied a sleeping Hyuuga only a few years older than the one in his hand. Bandages where strapped around her abdomen, evidence of a wound that, in all honesty, didn't appear life threatening. "_Hell, she could probably treat it at home. Looks like that ain't gonna happen now, though._" He lifted Hanabi onto the bed and unceremoniously set her down, awakening the snoozing patient in doing so.

Hinata blinked the drug-induced blurriness from her sleepy eyes and took in the sight before her. There was a bloodied stranger who towered over her with a strange weapon that trailed behind him alongside a river of blood. And who was that on her bed? "H-Hanabi!" she reached for the younger sibling and gasped when she found the gaping wound, "W-w-what h-happened?!" Things finally clicked in her mind and she realized what this newcomer had come to do. She slowly turned her head to meet the stranger with fearful tears welling up in her eyes. "N-n-no…"

He smiled. "Looks like you figured it out. Rest assured, lord Jashin will enjoy your souls!" Having said that, he flung his arm upward and the multi-bladed weapon followed the momentum towards the Hyuuga sisters…

But a familiar javelin plowed through the immortal's heart and his steel cord jerked to a halt and became taught. Deadman glanced down, sneered when he recognized the weapon, and turned in place to find the Uzumaki holding back his device of death. "Naruto, what're you doing?"

The boy regarded him with a spiteful stare. "She's mine," he calmly stated, "Leave her be."

Deadman's manic eyes widened and he sneered. "Heresy…" he said, "You've grown attached to this girl. I have to kill her to bring you back to Jashin… or kill you for your atonement."

"Think you can do that?!" For the second time that day he felt a special rage build in his chest, but this time he felt… powerful. There was a warm sensation swirling in his stomach, and something told him that he could reach out and touch his enemy. He leapt at Deadman, reaching for his javelin in midair.

Said hostile yanked back on his flexible weapon and extracted the bladed pole from his chest simultaneously. Now that the blonde immortal was in the air, there was no escape. He angled the bladed edge of the javelin so as to take off Naruto's head and swung once he was in range. A maniacal smile found its way onto his lips, but something new happened and they contorted into a grimace. "What the fuck?!"

No sooner had Deadman cursed than a limb of chakra extended from the blonde boy's arm and slammed into him. The force was powerful enough to knock the javelin from his hand and throw him right through the large window pane. Since the lever to his weapon was woven over his hand, his rapidly descending body took the connected scythe blades with it. He crashed onto the sidewalk several floors below then collected himself and retreated within seconds of landing. "_He can use chakra?! How is that possible?! How?!_"

Naruto himself didn't understand it. He stared at his arm and the bubbling crimson energy in wonder; he had never seen this before today. "What is this?" he inquired aloud, "Is it the fox?"

"Naruto!" Anko finally arrived on the scene. She couldn't believe how fast the immortal was. "Are you okay?!"

He didn't immediately reply; he was entranced by the warm energy as it receded into his body and dissipated. "I'll live," he stated lifelessly before turning his gaze to Hinata. His lips broke into a smile; she was quivering in fear- that perfect terror that only she could exhibit.

"N-N-Naruto!" she cried, flinging herself from the bloodied bed and wrapping frightened arms around the blonde. She winced at her injury, but her adrenaline levels kept her from feeling the full shock of it so far. "I-I w-was so s-s-scared!" Her pale eyes screwed shut but tears made their way through anyway. Her head felt light, and she wasn't fully conscious of the world around her thanks to the sedatives running through her system. She back away with a heavy blush and absentmindedly noted the wounds scarring the boy. "Y-you're hurt!"

"I'll live," the Uzumaki repeated. His voice was detached; he had never felt such a display of affection. Granted, he never received much physical contact that could possibly carry a hint of tenderness, but that didn't stop him from wondering why she did what she did. His smile transformed into a grin as he noticed that his blood transferred to her gown during the embrace and he let his mild pleasure be known by painting her cheek with a crimson thumb. He gazed into her eyes and frowned in confusion when she no longer regarded him with fear. "_Must be the drugs,_" he figured. There was no way she could be warming up to his treatment of her… right?

Anko couldn't help but give a silent chuckle to this situation. Here they were, surrounded by blood and gore and death, and all these two could think about was each other. Never mind that the bleeding Hyuuga girl still on the bed was beginning to stir… "Oh, shit!" she finally realized what had to be done, "I gotta get a doctor! Shit, are there any left?!"

--

Deadman stumbled through the back alleys he used to get to the hospital in the first place, unable to comprehend why Naruto could utilize chakra. "_Our chakra is sacrificed to lord Jashin for his gifts,_" he knew, "_So why does that brat still have some?! Where did it come from?!_" He continued on his frantic retreat until he detected the scent of blood emanating from the east. Following his nose, he found the Hyuuga complex and entered to be greeted by oceans of blood and the incessant sounds of Asha enjoyably violating victims within the compound walls before finishing them off. He trudged over to the moans and found her in a room lined with bound and amputated Hyuuga members awaiting their deaths like cattle. He eyed Asha without a shred of patience, threw his weapon forward, and carved her current victim to death in an instant.

"Hey!" her head swung to the side, flinging beads of sweat everywhere, "What the fuck?! I wasn't done with her yet!"

"We need to talk." He coughed- that fall _hurt_. "It's about Naruto."

She cocked an eyebrow. "What about him?" she spat, still irritated that her session had been interrupted.

"He can use chakra!"

The female immortal froze for a moment. "Is there something in my ears? Did I hear you right?" He nodded and she repeated his claim. "He can use chakra?"

"Yeah!"

Her face scrunched up in confusion. "Huh… how?"

"I don't know! I thought you might!"

She shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe he's got a blood limit we didn't know about."

He grimaced. Could that have been it? "No- bloodlines still require chakra to activate. He was using chakra all on its own."

Once again, she shrugged. "That's… interesting, but I don't see how that's a problem. Can I get back to this?" she waved a hand at her gagged concubines.

Deadman stomped away. "_Of course she's only interested in fucking… I've gotta let the clergy know about this…_"

--

The day of death passed, bringing with it anguish and anger amongst Konoha's population. The Hyuuga clan had all but been eradicated; many of the few survivors were scarred for life- they were now destined to wait out their days in clean padded rooms screaming about a 'witch with turquoise hair'. They couldn't be helped, not anymore. The hospital massacre also hit everyone hard. The eventual number of casualties in the place of healing came out to fifty-eight people, and many of them were patients who wouldn't have been able to defend themselves with a tripwire bomb. People were understandably angry, and they were out for blood. Specifically, they were out for the Uzumaki, seeing as how he was the one running to and fro in broad daylight while covered in blood. It was this reason that the blonde now stood before Sarutobi in the Hokage tower.

Said immortal didn't appear concerned in the least. His eyes carried a lackadaisical quality as he regarded the old man, and he wished to get this over with as quickly as possible. He was mildly irritated that his unique weapon had been confiscated at the door by force, but what could he do? Besides, the Hokage was one of the only people he viewed as worthy of living. That alone pronounced his due respect.

"Naruto," the aged ninja began with a grave tone, "Do you know why you're here?"

"Yep," he casually replied.

Sarutobi sighed; the boy had always been difficult to deal with, especially after his conversion. Naruto knew he didn't have to answer to anyone, so he was at least thankful that the blonde killer listened to him at all. "Naruto, were you responsible for the attack on the Hyuuga clan and the hospital?" The hospital was a rhetorical question; Anko already informed him of the boy's innocence in that bloodbath.

"Not the hospital. I killed a few Hyuugas, but not the whole clan."

"_At least he's honest._" He pried further. "How many of the Hyuugas did you kill?"

He scratched his temple in thought. "A few guards… Hiashi…" he paused, "Oh, Neji's still nailed to my wall! Crap, now the place'll stink forever…"

The elder shinobi's eyes narrowed. "You killed the clan head?" It was nothing short of a miracle that his voice remained calm. He wanted to express his frustration over Naruto's actions but knew it would fall on deaf ears.

"Yeah. Neji invaded my home so I defended myself, and the guards attacked me before I got near Hiashi."

This interested the old man. "Did you provoke anyone?"

"Neji, no. The guards, well… I was trespassing, but they used lethal force." The irony stung the air. "I came to kill Hiashi, though. And I did." He grinned wide at the pleasant memory.

"Why?"

His smile grew ear to ear. "Cause he sent Neji to kill me and Hinata…"

"Stop!" He hadn't heard about this. "He sent Neji to assassinate you and his own daughter?

"Yeah."

Sarutobi sat back in his chair. "_This… is getting complicated…_" He said nothing for a moment as he considered his next course of action. "Naruto," he sullenly addressed the Jashin follower, "I know you've had a hard life…"

"Here we go…"

"…And I know I haven't done nearly enough for you…"

"Damn straight."

"…But… I have to punish you for this."

His azure eyes flat lined. "Why?"

"Naruto, if you weren't responsible for _any_ of the killings, I could let you go. But the fact is, you were. Even if it was somewhat justified, you still murdered a member of this village in cold blood. Now, your punishment won't be nearly as much as it would have been if you were responsible for everything, but if I let you go then my authority wouldn't mean much to anyone. Everyone already thinks you're responsible, and they expect retribution."

"Then bring 'em on!" he pumped a victorious fist to the air.

He sighed. "Maybe you don't understand; my authority keeps people from attacking you wholesale. If that suddenly goes away, then you will have to potentially face everyone in Konoha… and I know that even the followers of Jashin have their limits."

Naruto frowned. "_When did I tell him I worship lord Jashin?_"

"And do you really want to kill everyone in Konoha?" Anko also told him that the Uzumaki rushed to the hospital to save a certain Hyuuga. Hopefully, this would be the turning point in the blonde's life, but he could only hope.

The boy scowled. "Fine," he accepted, "What's my punishment?"

"That's… a tough one. Normally, the punishment for murder is either death or banishment. Since your situation is… unique… I'll have to reprimand you accordingly." He sat in silence, wracking his brain for something appropriate. Exiling the boy would only serve to create animosity between Naruto and the world and killing him was impossible, so what was left?

"How about a mission?"

"A… what?" He hadn't considered this. "You can't be serious…"

"I am," he nodded, "Make me work for free. Give me some suicide missions." He offered that disturbing smirk of his. "I'll be able to complete them, no problem."

Sarutobi cocked his head in thought. "_Well… can't argue with that logic. Let's see what I have…_" He rifled through a few files in his desk- the S-class missions- and pulled a few from the hefty stack. Opening the first, he nodded in satisfaction. "Start on this one."

The immortal took the file and gave it a once over. It was an assassination request from a local feudal lord. Apparently, there was a rogue group of ninjas that raided several convoys and stole something that pissed off someone high up on the political food chain. "Any support?" he inquired hopefully.

"None. You're on your own. This will be the first of many assignments you'll conduct for free."

His lips cracked into a smile. "Just me… good." He had been meaning to take a pilgrimage- what better time than now to begin? He turned to waltz out of the room when Sarutobi stopped him.

"Naruto," he added, "Do you know who's responsible for the murders?"

He glanced back. "Two assholes called Asha and Deadman."

"Do they also follow Jashin?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know where they are?"

His head shook. "Not a clue." He headed for the door again. "Asha will do what I tell her, but Deadman's another story. Keep an eye out for him. Kill him if you get the chance." With that and a grin, he exited the room and left the aged ninja to his thoughts.

Said shinobi shuddered. Naruto wasn't especially bloodthirsty despite his religion, so his suggestion to kill this 'Deadman' on sight could only mean that this immortal was dangerous beyond measure…

--

Naruto arrived at his apartment and promptly released Neji from the wall. The cold corpse slumped to the ground and the blonde made a halfhearted attempt to wash the blood from the room. He partially succeeded then proceeded to toss the dead teen out the door before packing. He knew that very little was required for this mission; only a few kunai and throwing stars would accompany his sharpened javelin. "Alright," he mumbled to no one, "Couple more things to do…"

He locked his place up, stepped over the Hyuuga's corpse and made his way to one of the makeshift hospitals dotting the village. The surviving patients were transferred to multiple locations that could easily operate as a hospital since paranoia dictated that the perpetrator would return to the scene of the crime. The blonde scoffed at this logic, knowing that those who worshipped Jashin were as aimless in their sacrifices as the leaves that blew in the wind.

He found the place he was looking for and proceeded to push aside the frightened doctors and orderlies in the search for his target. Eventually, he found her lying peacefully in one of the small beds. His approach didn't wake her, but his unnerving gaze did.

Hinata instinctually felt a presence near her and stirred. She blinked wildly upon finding the blonde boy standing next to her. "N-Naruto!" she squeaked, "W-what are you d-doing here?"

His expression remained dead. "I got a mission. Don't know how long it'll take. Once you're out of here, find Anko and stick with her."

"W-what about H-Hanabi?" Her sister had barely survived her time with Deadman. It was a wonder that the younger girl was even alive.

He shrugged. "I don't care; do what you want. Stick with Anko though, got it?"

She stared and nodded at him in puzzlement. Were her ears deceiving her? Was this murderous boy concerned for her well being? "I… I will…"

His manic grin returned. "Good." He leaned forward, practically raping her personal space as he lowered his lips to her ear. Smirk notwithstanding, he whispered, "You will stay alive. After all, you are mine."

The Hyuuga blushed profusely. "_I-I'm his?! H-he w-wants me?!_" The logical portion of her brain knew that he implied nothing romantic in this statement- he had made it abundantly clear that he treasured her fear and little more. But still, she could dream. Before she could reply, the immortal turned and left without another word.

"_One more stop,_" he knew. Sadly, he didn't know for sure where to find his next quarry, but he had a good idea. He swiftly waltzed into the red light district and searched out an empty brothel. Finding one rather quickly, he followed the sounds of ecstasy and walked in on Asha before she could finish. "Asha, listen up!"

"One second!" She impaled the unfortunate soul with her spiraling sword upon the interruption then arched her back as she climaxed. Soon enough, she was in the mood to talk. "What's up?"

Naruto averted his eyes; he wasn't really interested in sex- especially not Asha's version of it- but he still found her lack of inhibitions embarrassing. "I need a favor."

"Oh?" This intrigued her. Naruto never requested anything of her- he demanded them. Maybe now she could make demands of her own? "And it is…?"

"Keep Deadman away from Hinata." He could feel an unconscious blush creeping onto his cheeks as the voluptuous… and nude… Asha approached him.

"And what'll I get in return?" She cooed, draping an arm around his shoulders and twirling her finger around his chest.

He grimaced and tried painfully hard to ignore her. "I'll bring someone back for you."

"Aw," she pouted, "You know that's not what I want…"

"I'm up against an S-class rogue ninja and his group. I'll keep a strong one alive and bring him back for you."

"Come on," she whispered into his ear, practically licking the skin due to her proximity, "You could just pay me right now and get it out of the way. You know… two immortals… a few hours in the afternoon…"

He glared at her. "I'll. Bring. Someone. Back." He disliked her advances; they drove him nuts.

She released him and sighed. "Fine," she shrugged, "But he better be durable. I'm tired of all the weaklings I've been getting lately."

"Good." With that, he turned on his heel to leave.

"Who you going after?" She didn't honestly care, but her curiosity got the better of her. Maybe it was someone she'd heard of…

He didn't break pace to answer her cordially. "Someone named Zabuza Momochi."

* * *

DUN DUN DUUUUUN!

Who will Naruto bring back? Will it be an OC or someone we know? Will the bloodthirsty blonde even bring back anyone at all?

What of Deadman and the mysterious clergy? And how is this all related to Naruto's first public use of chakra?

Stay tuned next time for the answers.

heheheh...


	5. Foxes and Oversized Butter Knives!

Woo! This took a while. But, like I said before, this fic is meant to be an icebreaker. So... yeah.

Enjoy.

* * *

As the days melted into a week, Naruto continued his trudging search for Zabuza Momochi. It wasn't wildly difficult to find the man in terms of hearsay if one knew where to look. The blonde immortal figured that a missing ninja would be in dire need of work, and the only people who generally hired rogue shinobi tended to be of the shady variety. "_This is right up my alley._" With this in mind, he proceeded to terrorize local gangs and mobs in the seedy districts of cities to obtain answers.

He began his bloody search in the small towns. This was difficult simply because of the small time nature of crimes that went on in places like these, but eventually he began compiling a list of the big names in the large metropolitan areas. From there, he travelled to the capital in search of these key bosses. He proceeded to go down the list upon arrival, eliminating those who stood in his way.

It had been exactly seven days since he began his journey as he entered a lush mansion whose location was given away by a local businessman. "_I'm sure lord Jashin enjoyed that one,_" he mused happily, having slaughtered the man once he divulged everything relevant. Apparently, this not so humble abode belonged to one of the biggest names in the criminal underworld- Gato. The man dealt mostly in smuggling, but any black market trade provided big payoffs these days. "Time to see what he knows…"

The blonde strolled up the winding cobblestone path to the inner gates and casually noted the professional guards standing watch. "Yo," he greeted miserly, "Is this Gato's house?"

They eyed him with mounting suspicion- this boy reeked of blood. "What is your business here?" the one with fading blue hair inquired, "This is private property."

"Just answer the damn question…" His hand groped the bladed javelin as he spoke; he wasn't in the mood to mess around.

Neither were the guards- their spears were instantly leveled at his face. "Get out of here, kid," an auburn-eyed man spat, "Master Gato's not scheduled to see anyone today."

"He penciled he in," he pulled his odd weapon from its silky sheath, "Now let me pass…"

--

Gato sat at his desk while reviewing documents in his comfy chair. Official work was in his hands at the moment, but he and countless others knew that much of his business was merely a front. But he was good at cover ups, so no one crime could ever be tied to him. "_All I have to do is eliminate this 'Tazuna' and the Wave country will be under my thumb._" That island would provide major ports for trafficking and, if done correctly, would be a major stepping stone to his illegal career. "_Once I monopolize the drug trade here in the East, I'll move on to the North. Those barbarians wouldn't know a fair deal if it spit on them…_" A knock emanated from the door and broke him from his greedy revelry. "Who is it?!" he spat, annoyed that someone saw fit to disturb him.

The door opened and a blonde boy waltzed in like he owned the place. He briefly scanned the room with lazy eyes and stated, "Guess this is the end of the house. You Gato?"

Said short man stood from his seat, subconsciously aware that his stature probably didn't intimidate the boy one bit. "You realize you're trespassing, right? Get out!" He aimed a finger at the door. "_What the hell are the guards doing…?_"

"Guess that's a 'yes'." Naruto wasn't amused- he had been forced to butcher every guard foolish enough to confront him, and this was on top of travelling nonstop for a week. He was in no mood for games. "Now," he brought his odd weapon to bear, "Do you know anything about a missing ninja named Zabuza?"

"Kid, get the hell out of here!" He tossed an ashtray at the Uzumaki andblinked in surprise when the boy didn't budge. Rather, the heavy glass object smashed into the intruder's forehead without consequence. "Guards! What the hell are you doing?!"

That statement made the immortal realize that this man had no idea what kind of danger stood before him, so he swung his bladed javelin back, hooked the edge of the other door, and swung it open. The preceding hallway was drenched with blood and bodies that had been dismembered mostly for intimidation. "A lot of your guards are cowards," he stated calmly, "You show 'em a few bodies and they take off. Now," he wielded his weapon against the short businessman, "Zabuza?"

Gato's eyes widened when the full gravity of the situation fell upon him. "_T-the guards… they're all dead! And this… this kid did all that?!_" He unconsciously backed up when the blonde casually advanced on him until his back touched the wall. "P-please," his voice cracked when the immortal approached, "W-what do you want? Is i-it money? Power? C-could it be women?"

Naruto buried the bladed end of his elongated tool into the wall next to Gato's head and glared at him. "Have you ever heard of a man named Zabuza? Depending on your answer, I might not kill you." His voice dripped with malice and his tone was lined with frustration. He wanted to get on with his free mission so badly that the diminutive crook's fear didn't even register. Of course, the blonde had already had a taste of perfect terror from a certain Hyuuga…

"Z-Zabuza? O-oh, him…" He recalled the oversized sword of the masked ninja. "H-he's in the W-Wave country…" Gato almost revealed the mission he gave to said shinobi, but the horror in his mind screamed at him to withhold it- this freak of nature might not want to hear that.

Of course, the immortal didn't care either way. "Is that the truth?"

Gato nodded swiftly. Sweat poured from every orifice in his body and soaked his clothing.

The blonde's eyes narrowed; he wanted to make sure this short wuss wasn't lying. He retracted his weapon, flipped it to the ground, and promptly separated the captive's pinky toe from the rest of the foot. Gato squealed at the sudden sharp pain but couldn't move when the Uzumaki clenched his throat with an iron grip. "Are you lying? 'Cause if you are, I'll take off your whole leg next."

The treacherous businessman chocked and attempted in vain to pry the boy's fingers from his throat. Milliseconds later, he found that this wouldn't happen anytime soon and nodded in affirmation. The foreign digits were removed and he gasped for air.

"So that's the truth? He's in the Wave country?"

"Yes!" he coughed and stumbled away, "Yes, he is! P-please spare m-me!"

For the first time in days, Naruto cracked his deathly smile. "Good. We have an understanding." He strolled for the door but stopped short. "Don't send anyone after me," he threatened.

Gato nodded in obedience.

This seemed to satisfy the boy and he turned to leave for good. But then his feet halted again. "You know…" he began, not facing the crooked businessman this time, "Why am I bossing you around?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Wha…?"

Before the short man could finish, the immortal spun on his heel and chucked his javelin at him. The spiked pole sailed straight through the diminutive criminal and stuck him to the wall. Gato feebly grasped the weapon protruding from his chest in his last moments before death took hold and he went limp. The blonde waltzed toward the fresh corpse, yanked free his tool of death, and then fiddled through the slumped body's pockets. Producing a wallet, the boy checked for cash and took it without a smile before exiting the chamber.

"This is for making me come all the way out here. Old bastard…"

--

While Naruto was away from Konoha, Hinata recovered enough from the minor injury he inflicted on her to be released from the field hospital. Hanabi was another story though- Deadman had done a number on her. The older Hyuuga wept for her sibling when the doctors told her that the youngest surviving clan member would never be a shinobi; it was simply beyond what her body could do. Even her lifespan was debatable at this point with all the risks of thinned arteries bursting and internal wounds on vital organs reopening due to stress. "_I swear I'll keep you safe, Hanabi,_" Hinata vowed to herself, "_I'll protect you…_"

She stopped and found this train of thought rather strange- didn't Naruto say something to that effect? Her cheeks reddened every time she recounted the last moment she shared with the blonde- him leaning into her ear and whispering that she was his. "_Maybe… he's beginning to see me differently?_"

But any happiness derived from the immortal's amorphous words died when news of her family reached her ears. The moment the aged Hokage told her, she felt a weight drop on her shoulders. There was no home for her anymore, but then a tiny, seemingly insignificant fact dawned on her in her misery; the pale eyes of her father would no longer gaze at her with the pure hatred that held her down. As she wandered the streets afterward, she felt horrible that she could harbor such selfish emotions towards her murdered kin.

"_I… I shouldn't think that way… it's disgraceful. What would father say about it…?_" A thought struck her. "_B-but father is no longer a-alive…_" It finally hit her; she was free. Free from the struggle between main and branch members, free from the undue prejudice of Neji, free from her father. "_C-could it be… this is what… Naruto intended?_" That notion was hard to swallow; could the blonde care for her well being on a level that he was actually willing to kill for her?

That idea left her in a daze. She stalked the streets aimlessly until noticing that the sun was bidding the sky farewell. Instinctively, she started towards the Hyuuga compound before stopping short. "_That's right. Naruto said to find… Anko…_"

--

A certain Mitarashi sneezed before she could take another sip of her sake. "Damn, hope it's not a cold…"

She had spent the last few days worried as hell- she hadn't seen Naruto. After the Hyuuga slaughter, the blonde simply disappeared without a trace. Interestingly enough, the local murders that had been tantamount as of late had also decreased a significant amount, and the word on the streets was that the demon was finally exiled. "_I hope that's not the case,_" she wished, "_I know he just wants acceptance, even if he won't admit it…_"

Time passed and so did the bottles of booze. On her fifth one, her face accurately resembled a tomato and she couldn't really taste the sour liquid anymore. She was simply slamming the bitter stuff down without thinking- she had no missions planned for a few days, so she could afford to be intoxicated out of her mind for tonight. In mid-sip though, a genteel knock came from her door.

"Whooo isss it?" she slurred. "_Damn it, I can't talk anymore…_" Hearing an answer but not coordinated enough to understand it, she stood to her feet and swaggered over to the door, bumping into tables and chairs and all the other crap that happened to be in the way. Her hand found the right doorknob on the second attempt and she swung open the wooden barricade. "Who?"

Hinata was instantly assaulted by the stench of alcohol. "A-are y-you Anko M-Mitarashi?"

"Whoskin?"

"I'm… sorry?"

She blanched. "S'rry; whooo's… ask'n?"

"Oh," she understood and promptly bowed. "I-I am H-Hinata Hyuuga…"

The snake charmer eyed the girl, squinting in suspicion as well as to get rid of the other three identical preteen girls. "Hyu… ga? They dead…" Her head hung in a sudden bout of sleepiness. "_Yep, I'm hammered._"

The young Hyuuga stammered for a moment- she didn't know what to say. After all, how does one explain to a wasted ninja that they should stay with them because an immortal murderer said so? "Um… uh…"

The drunken woman swayed for a minute longer and began to scoot the door shut. "If ya ain't g'nna taaalk, I'm hitt'n th' hay…"

Hinata's pale eyes widened in the sudden realization that the snake mistress was about to leave her out in the cold. "N-Naruto said I sh-should stay with y-you!" she yelped, hoping that the intoxicated shinobi would at least sympathize with her. "_But… why would she? Why would Naruto send me to her?_"

Thankfully, Anko heard the blonde's name and flung the door again. It crashed into the adjacent wall and she stared wide-eyed at the young genin. "Naaaruto? He's aliiive?" She wondered if her drunkenness was playing tricks on her. "Get in here…" Before she could think, her arm grabbed the girl's loose jacked and pulled her in.

The young Hyuuga stumbled into the outer room and, after determining that the woman wasn't out for blood, hesitantly made her way towards the living room. Curiosity notwithstanding, she noticed that the Mitarashi's home wasn't exactly posh- not that many apartments were, seeing as how until now she had always resided within a mansion. "_It reminds me of Naruto's home,_" she observed, "_At least, without all the blood._"

"Sidown!" the dango lover announced, temporarily forgetting the strength of her vocal chords.

Hinata squirmed. "I-I'm sorry…?"

The snake mistress grunted as she plopped down on her lone couch and slapped the cushion next to her. "Take a sea'" she slurred, her words not coming out the way she wanted.

The pale-eyed girl obeyed; she was already nervous. At least with Naruto, she could tell what he wanted for the most part. But Anko was an unfamiliar character to her…

"Youuu said N'ruto sen' ya?" the Mitarashi rolled her head at her guest.

"Er, yes…"

"'S he alive?"

The Hyuuga paused for a moment and analyzed her benefactor's eyes. "_Is she concerned about him?_" She was never really as adept at reading people like her father or Neji. "Y-yes. I s-saw him a few d-days ago at the hospital."

"He say 'nythin'?"

She found it odd that she was beginning to understand the drunken speech. "H-he said he h-had a mission…"

Anko leaned forward, unaware that her breath was the reason her visitor cringed. "He say 'ow long?"

Hinata's head ducked and she slowly shook it. "H-he didn't k-know…"

A few tense seconds passed and the sweets lover breathed a scented sigh of relief. "Ah… least he's safe 'en…"

The pale-eyed girl gazed at the drunken woman. "_She's… smiling? Does she… trust Naruto?_" This alone was a rarity in the village, but she knew it had to go further. "_No… could she… could she… like Naruto…?_" Her eyes widened; this notion was horrific to her feeble mind.

The Mitarashi didn't look at the girl as she dozed. "So… N'ruto said you stick wi' me?" Receiving the barest of nods in return, she continued. "Well 'en, you c'n stay 's long ya like…" She leaned her head back on the couch and shut her eyes.

The Hyuuga stared at the woman with inquisitive eyes. "_What's her relationship with Naruto? She seems worried about him… is it possible that she… likes him? No! That can't be it; she's so much older than him. But… still…_" She opened her mouth to ask but was interrupted by a soft snore. The Mitarashi had finally succumbed to inebriated slumber. She glanced down in defeat. "_I… I'll ask her tomorrow…_"

But despite her resolve, she couldn't help but feel that there was now competition for the young immortal's affection, assuming he had any left to give.

--

Naruto was getting close, he could feel it. Two days of solid traveling brought him close enough to the Wave country that he would have a chance to find Zabuza. But now that he was here, he had no more leads. This was a seriously backwater country, so no crime syndicates were around to provide answers. There were also no shinobi native to the area, so he couldn't even ask around. "Well," he halted in the middle of the road, "This fucking blows…"

Coming up with nothing better, he decided to grace the small island with his presence. Maybe wandering around this destitute town would reveal something. With this in mind, he found a small boat probably owned by a fisherman and pushed off towards the island. In due time, the rickety craft finally creaked and rattled its way onto the shores of the self-contained prefecture and the blonde stepped onto the sand with bored eyes glaring straight ahead. "_This place stinks,_" was the first thing to come to mind. It was true- it smelled like fish.

He stumbled around for a bit and eventually arrived in the poor village. Figuring that he had found the main road, he briefly wondered if that was truly the case- any vendors that were even open were selling so little that it was pathetic. He whistled. "Man, talk about dirt poor…" A thought struck him and for the second time on this journey, he smiled. "I wonder if lord Jashin would object to such poor sacrifices…" A soft tug broke him from his murderous contemplations and he glared in the direction of the disturbance.

Some young kid stood uncomfortably close while avoiding eye contact- behavior usually accompanying someone guilty of a crime. The blonde's eyes narrowed and he spied his stolen wallet in the boy's hand. He reacted instantly, capturing the child's arm by the wrist and restraining him in the middle of the dusty street.

"L-let me go!" the kid yelled, hoping that he could still get away with his infraction.

The Uzumaki simply stared death into the boy's eyes and held out his free hand. "Give it back."

"G-give what back?" Why the obstinate little…

Naruto's patience dried up instantly and he jerked his arm to the satisfying crack of the boy's wrist. Screams followed the motion, only adding to the symphony. "I'll ask one more time: hand it over."

Tears flowing down his cheeks, the kid shakily returned the doubly stolen property. Upon doing so he was freed, and he wisely took the opportunity to escape with his broken extremity cradled against his body.

The immortal pocketed his loot and noted the glares shot towards him. Many were angry, but there were just as many that were nothing more than noteworthy and a few that looked like they couldn't care less. The inhabitants of this country were simply so poor that they found no excitement or irritability in blatant acts of hostility. At least, most people felt that way…

"Hey!" a voice wailed behind the boy, "You! What did you do to my son?!"

The Uzumaki turned in place and eyed the insolent one who called him on his aggression, finding it to be a woman with the injured boy cowering behind her. "What do you want?"

She eyed him angrily. "You broke my son's wrist, and you expect to get away with it?!"

He glanced at the sky and nodded in consideration. "Yeah, pretty much."

The woman fumed and stomped towards him, ignoring the cries of those concerned about what was about to go down. The townspeople were astute; they knew trouble when they saw it.

"Tsunami, please! Don't do anything rash…"

"Think of Tazuna…"

"Think of Inari!"

She was foolish enough not to heed their words. "Now you listen to me, you damn brat…" she handled the lining of the immortal's ebony robe, "Just because we're poor doesn't mean we don't have pride- urgh!"

Naruto responded to her weak grasp with a much stronger version of his own. As he squeezed her throat and dully noted her fear, he found himself disappointed. Maybe he _was_ becoming accustomed to Hinata's terror too much. "What good is pride if you're dead?" he returned, "Listen up woman- I'm looking for someone. A missing ninja named Zabuza. I doubt you'd know anything about him, so is there anything here in this godforsaken country he might want?"

Tsunami struggled against the iron grip of the intimidating youth. Her voice choked when her wounded son attempted in vain to free her. "I-Ina…ri…" Her plea was cut short as the blonde tightened his fingers again.

"I'm in no mood for games today! Answer the question!"

She eyed him with tearing eyelids and panicked as she tried to think of any possible reason this 'Zabuza' would be in the country. Of course, she knew of one man who work was of utmost importance. "M-my fa…ther…"

The Uzumaki loosened his grip but did not release her. "Who's your father?"

Tsunami coughed against the constricted influx of air. "Ta-Tazuna…"

"Where can I find him?"

"H-he should be using t-the main roads… that lead straight t-to the town square."

Naruto leaned in, squinted, and released the woman. It was a satisfactory enough answer, so he decided to be benevolent today and let the mother and her son live. Without another word, he turned back the way he came and started for the port he saw when he landed on the beachhead. "_There's no other way into this country- he'd probably arrive there._"

He eyed the clearing around him; the path was rather large, so he figured this must have been the main road. After a little walking, the port he noticed on his way in came into sight. The blonde's hateful eyes narrowed when he saw a handful of figures approaching only to find that the view was becoming obscured by mist. "_Where'd this come from?_" he wondered, knowing that mist of this thickness usually accompanied cold mornings and evenings, not midday. His eyes shot open when he could no longer see the five individuals but could hear a girl's shriek. "_That's it!_" he knew, "_This mist must be a technique!_"

Given his immortal state, he charged headlong into the cold airborne spray with his unusual weapon drawn and prepared to strike. He could make out a figure in the fog and headed straight for it, reeling back with a smile born of excitement…

Only for his lips to contort in a sneer when he found a familiar face.

Said familiar face whipped around and stared at him in shock. "N-Naruto?!"

He glared at her. "Ino…"

"W-what are you doing here?!"

"Hunting," he relaxed a tad, "You see a missing ninja around?"

She was so jarred by her situation that it took everything for her to aim a shaky finger to her right. "H-he's fighting Asuma…"

The Uzumaki eyed her a second longer before running off into the mist, oblivious to her trailing stare. He heard something whiz over his head and ducked; immortal, yes, invulnerable, no. "_Can't let him take my head off…_"

Now he could hear the sounds of battle- the intoxicating clangs steel on steel. He ran towards the noise and was rewarded with two silhouettes hammering away at each other. One wielded a massive sword that didn't look familiar, so the murderous blonde smiled as he aimed the spiked end of his javelin at him. With a final burst of speed, he leapt at the figure and came into view.

Two pairs of eyes glanced at him in surprise. Zabuza saw that the kid's weapon was aimed at him, so he took the initiative and ducked. Asuma, however, wasn't so astute; he was committed to his attack. His trench knife continued forward and went right through the blonde's arm as the boy overshot his target.

"Damn it!" the immortal cursed at the Sarutobi, "That stings!"

"Naruto!" the man spouted, "Why are you here?!"

"I'm after him," he aimed a finger at the retreating shinobi. He turned his bloody grin at the man and addressed him when he stopped. "You're Zabuza, right?"

Said missing ninja stared at him, wondering why such a young boy was unfazed by the gaping wound in his arm. "That'd be me, kid. Who the hell are you? You with the hunter ninjas?"

The immortal's disturbing smile never faded as he tugged at the headband around his neck. "I'm just the guy sent to kill you. Now let's go!"

The Momochi obliged by preparing his sword for a downward strike. He saw how the boy smiled and it reminded him of the Suigetsu brat. Both boys seemed to enjoy battle, this one more so than the other if the length of his smile was anything to go by.

Naruto dodged the swing at the last second and sprang forward, his spiked instrument angled at his quarry. It didn't connect though- Zabuza planted a foot right in his face. The blonde flew back and recovered poorly; this was the most fun he'd ever had. "_Up until now I've been fighting civilians and guys who couldn't hurt me no matter how hard they tried. This one is different!_" He ran forward again for the same attack. Something about the definition of insanity rang in his mind, but he was having too much fun to really listen to it.

"Naruto!" Asuma's voice interrupted his assault as the target melted into the mist, "What are you doing?! You'll get killed like this!"

When the missing shinobi disappeared from view, the boy snarled at the older ninja. "I won't die," he spat. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Protecting Tazuna…"

"Ah," he spoke up at the familiar name, "So that's what he wanted…"

Asuma didn't understand the boy's words. "What…?"

"You guys get going," the blonde waved the jonin away with his javelin, "I'll take care of this guy."

"But…"

He glared at him. "It's my mission; straight from old man Hokage. Argue with him. Now leave; this kill is mine."

The Sarutobi's eyes narrowed at the bloodthirsty boy and he promptly departed from the scene in search of his scattered team. He knew deep down that the boy was right- it was their mission to protect Tazuna, not defeat the bridge builder's would-be assassins. Now that someone had come along to do that job, they could do theirs.

Naruto could hear the Konoha team scuffling about in the foggy background as their voices became gradually distant. "Hey Zabuza!" he called into the mist, "You get hired by Gato to kill Tazuna?!" When no reply came, he continued. "Gato's already dead, so you're not gettin' paid for this…"

"Unfortunate," a deep voice muttered behind him.

The blonde spun in place to stab the intruder but failed, unlike the Momochi. The massive blade connected with the boy's midsection in a wide swipe and the Uzumaki's torso went flying. Tense seconds passed and the boy's upper half slammed into the ground several meters from his lower half, and everything was over.

Zabuza straightened and eyed the corpse. "_Did he really kill Gato?_" Despite his status, he was an efficient man. If there was no point to a job, then there simply wasn't a point. Money was the deciding factor as of the moment, not pride or honor. Deciding that his backup would be a good source of information, he addressed the misty environment. "Haku? You there?"

A masked youth appeared next to the looming swordsman in an instant. "Yes, lord Zabuza?"

"I want you to find out if this kid really killed Gato. I'm gonna keep an eye on Tazuna until then. No point in killing the old man if there's no profit."

Haku nodded slowly. "Yes, lord Zabuza." Before preparing to leave though, he glanced at the fresh corpse before him. He felt a twinge of guilt at the death of someone his age, even if it was by his master's hand. He would make it a point to honor the boy's death at another time, and he turned to leave opposite his benefactor when both stopped cold in their tracks.

"Goddamn it!" a shrill voice shouted. Two pairs of shocked eyes looked at each other and then at the torso lying several meters away. The disembodied half's arms flailed and, once gaining a foothold with the javelin, righted itself. "That fucking hurt!"

For once in his life, Zabuza was speechless. He blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't an illusion. Nope, still half a man talking to him like nothing was wrong. Haku wasn't much better off.

"Y-you are alive?" the ice user stuttered. He had never seen anything like this.

"So there's two of you, eh?" the blonde grunted as he held himself steadfast. "Well ain't that just great. I'm not even getting paid for one…"

"W-what the hell?!" the Momochi finally spoke. "What are you?!"

Naruto sneered at him. "I'm immortal."

"But… how?" Haku added.

"Lord Jashin," came the simple reply. "And once I get back together, I'm sending both of you to meet him!"

The former Mist swordsman gathered himself and strolled up to the disembodied half. "As if, kid." He raised his hefty weapon into the air. "Save me a spot…"

"Lord Zabuza!" the masked ninja's effeminate cry interrupted the towering shinobi.

"What?!" The man was obviously annoyed. He spun on his heel, momentarily striking the blonde from his sight. "Ow!"

The Uzumaki had taken advantage of his quarry's split second distraction and jabbed his javelin at the man, barely pricking his big toe. "_Pathetic…_" he complained about the wound's lack of severity, "_But it'll do._"

Zabuza instantly redirected his attention to the immortal and chucked his massive blade into him. This time, the sword didn't cleave all the way; it got stuck in the sternum, effectively rendering the Jashin follower a human shish cabob. "Now," he hefted the weapon over his shoulder, taking the noisy boy with it, "What is… it… Haku?"

The rogue ninja never thought the day would come when he would bear witness to something that could render him speechless. It was surprising enough that he currently faced a mostly defeated opponent who couldn't die, but what stood before him now was simply too much. "W-what the hell…?"

Naruto's eyes also widened in shock, although he was the first to recover from it. After all, one who could be hoisted into the air via impalement and still talk like nothing was wrong couldn't be dumbstruck for long. His face contorted into noticeable displeasure. "Who the hell are you?"

Before the trio stood the blonde immortal's legs, plus some. Everything above the crimson belt had been shorn off by Zabuza and somehow replaced. Now, instead of the murderous Uzumaki's torso in place over his legs, there was a similarly proportioned body of a girl roughly his age with fiery red hair.

In short, Naruto's lower half 'grew' a replacement, and she looked equally as happy to see the immortal as he was to see her.

"Huh," she had a gruff voice as she swiveled her shoulder, "Never thought I'd finally see the day. Guess I gotta thank that Hyuuga…"

"Why is there a girl growin' outta me?!" Naruto shouted from his raised position, aiming his javelin at her in accusation. "And why is she flat as a pancake?!"

This irked her. "Don't call me that again, brat!"

"What?! A flat-chested bitch?!"

"A human, damn it!" She stomped the ground. "Just because I'm stuck in this body doesn't make me any less of a demon!"

The blonde crossed his arms across his penetrated chest. "Demon, eh? So you're the fox? Always thought you were a guy…"

She placed her arms at her… his… hips in a huff, oblivious or uncaring to the fact that her short crimson hair did nothing to hide her naked torso. "Demons transcend gender, dumbass. I'm just using the other half of your filthy genes to project myself."

He sneered at her. "Whatever. Get over here and reattach me so I can kill this guy." Patting Zabuza's sword with his free hand, he broke said ninja from his stupor.

The Momochi reeled back with his oversized weapon. "Bunch of freaks!" With that, he lobbed Naruto at the female counterpart and rushed both of them.

The immortal aimed his javelin at his oncoming legs in midair in the hopes of pinning them down. The fox stuck her tongue out at him and sidestepped, leaving the blonde free to sail into the tree behind her. She eyed him with a smirk- his antics were humorous- before glancing at the advancing swordsman. "_So pathetic,_" she thought as Zabuza's enormous sword flew at her in slow motion. She blocked it with nothing more than a raised forearm.

The rogue ninja instantly followed up on his attack by releasing the sword and planting a solid kick into the girl's gut. But it felt like kicking steel; it did nothing. At that moment, his senses ordered him to retreat, but his foot was captured in the iron grip of the fox. A moment later, his face greeted the cold ground and the wind got knocked out of him as the girl spun him straight into the earth with minimal effort. "_Shit, she's strong…_"

"Lord Zabuza!" Haku cried as he lobbed handfuls of needles at his master's attacker in the hopes of buying time.

The fox whipped her arm around the older ninja's oversized knife and spared a glance at the masked boy assaulting her. With a bemused grimace, she swung the thing at the boy and hit him hard with the broad side of the sharpened steel slat. "_I could get used to this…_" Now that the boy was out of the way, she turned her eyes at the Momochi and raised the stolen weapon into the air. Her lips split into a sick smile previously owned by her jailor and she stated, "Decapitated by your own sword. How embarrassing…"

But before she could deliver the deathblow, a sudden tug jolted her from her attack. Her head spun around to find Naruto climbing up her… his… legs. "Get off me, brat!" she spat as she swung her arm at his face…

But the blow never connected. Rather, her arm became translucent upon contact, melted into the boy's flesh, and shot towards his arm. "_Shit!_" she swore inwardly, "_He's absorbing me!_"

The Uzmaki realized this as well, and that only served to spurn him on as he literally climbed back into position amidst the fox's desperate cursing and flailing. When both halves finally touched, he twisted in place a few times and felt the fox's 'body' holding him in place… that is, until his wounds eventually healed. "Oh, this could be useful…"

Zabuza scrambled to his feet, retrieved his weapon, and retreated into the mist. His lungs ached as they begged for air, and he needed another plan in order to avoid that disaster all over again. "_Better yet,_" he thought, "_Maybe I should just get out of here._" Nodding to himself, he called out to his subordinate.

Said masked shinobi stirred; he had been knocked unconscious by the blow, and he could feel several broken ribs. The first thing to come to mind was, of course, his master. But before he could open his mouth, he heard Zabuza's voice calling him.

"Haku, we're leaving!"

"Yes, lord Zabuza." The boy crouched to leap into the tree line and shot a final glance toward their blonde assailant. His eyes narrowed in concern when he saw yet another new predicament; the immortal licking the end of his javelin while scribbling a pattern on the dirt with his blood. "_What is he doing?_" Haku gasped when the blonde's body suddenly transformed into something that resembled a voodoo doll, and he was only concerned further when Naruto jammed his weapon into his own heart. It was then that all his fears came true as he heard Zabuza yelp in the distance.

"Lord Zabuza!" He rushed towards his masters labored breathing, although the mist was now clearing due to its owner's state. The ice user landed next to his benefactor and removed his mask, eyes wide and salty with tears. "Lord Zabuza! What's wrong?!"

The Momochi eyed the boy and coughed up more blood- that was all he could do. He felt immeasurable pain surging through his chest; almost like he'd been stabbed in the heart. That feeling penetrated him several more times and his body lurched forward with every tortuous jab. Seconds later, Zabuza Momochi was released from the mortal plane and went limp in a puddle of his own blood.

Haku simply stared at the fresh corpse. His eyes watered, but he couldn't weep for the passing of the man who had saved him. It didn't seem real to him; almost like a bad dream from which he couldn't awake. It also felt distant, like he was watching this scene from the eyes of an unsympathetic sparrow in the treetops. Even the approach of a presence from behind didn't shake him from his paralyzing sorrow.

"What's up?" Naruto asked nonchalantly. "You just gonna let me kill you?"

The ice user said nothing for a moment. "You may as well."

"You're easy. Got a reason?"

He slowly shook his head. "No. There is no reason in life. Not anymore."

The Uzumaki frowned at this logic. "You're still alive. Ain't that enough?"

Haku finally turned to the blonde behind him but didn't rise from his knees. "I was lord Zabuza's instrument. If I cannot serve that purpose, then I have no reason to continue living."

The immortal snarled at him. "There is no purpose in life. As long as you're alive, that's all that counts."

The effeminate boy stared at him blankly. "What… do you mean?"

"Life doesn't have a purpose. You live, you die. That's it. Well, for me it's different, but the only thing I have to do is kill for lord Jashin."

Haku thought this belief was no different. "Is that not your purpose then? To kill for Jashin?"

The blonde laughed at the clearing sky. "All I have to do is honor my god with blood. Everything else is up to me!"

A moment of silence passed. "That… may work for you, but… it does not for me. The person I hold dear is dead, thus… I have no reason to go on living."

Naruto had had enough by now. He grabbed Haku by the hair and pulled him to his feet. "You want a reason to live?" he stated angrily, "I'll give ya one. Follow me."

This struck the ice user as odd. Was this immortal attempting to replace Zabuza? "I'm… sorry?"

The blonde strolled over to the Momochi's corpse without looking at the distraught boy. "You said you were his instrument." He raised the bladed end of his javelin over the body's neck. "Weapons can change hands." With that, he brought the impromptu sword down on the dead man's neck, almost severing it. He hacked at it a few more times and finally succeeded.

Haku swallowed in horror upon seeing his former master's corpse desecrated without a shroud of hesitation. "You… would give me another purpose?" It pained him to speak these words- he and the Mist swordsman had grown close over the years, but the sorrow and doubt in his heart was enough to make him consider the offer.

The Jashin follower shrugged as he picked up the severed head by the hair. "Yeah, sure. If you want to call it that." With that, he began walking away as if on the way home from the store, the S-class shinobi's head swinging from his fist like a grotesque watermelon.

The ice user gulped down his sadness; this was it. "Y-your wish… is my command… lord…"

"No," he held out a finger before his twisted grin formed, "You said so yourself- you're a weapon. You call me 'master' from now on."

Haku bowed his head with great trepidation; how would this new master fare? "Yes… master…"

--

As the days passed, so did emotions within Konoha. Ever since Naruto had disappeared, the mass slaughters seemed to drop off. Gruesome murders were no longer being discovered on a daily basis, and this led the vast majority of the villagers content that the demon was gone. Many believed that the blonde killer was gone for good- exiled or eliminated after the untimely destruction of the Hyuuga clan.

But one such Hyuuga knew better. Hinata had spent these days as quiet as ever; she heard almost nothing but slander against her murderous crush, and she instinctively knew that speaking up in his defense would only bode ill for her. She knew that the villagers would see her as corrupted and toss her away with the remainder of her surviving family in the loony bin. "_I still have to protect Hanabi…_" she consoled herself over her inaction.

She had stayed with Anko these past few days, and she could honestly say at this point that the Mitarashi was competition on some level. It seemed the only common ground they had was the blonde murderer, and the sweets lover didn't have her self-esteem issues. Rather, the snake charmer had an abundance of confidence, and Hinata saw that ability to act on even the smallest affection as an affront to her. But the shy girl also knew that there was little she could do about it- she was simply too withdrawn, and she knew she couldn't just up and change her personality overnight. "_If only I wasn't so bland,_" she cursed her drab looks, "_It would be easier for Naruto to look at me…_" Little did she know that her pale skin already put her ahead of the curve.

The blue-haired girl had also encountered something she had never imagined. Ever since the slaughter of her family, she was elevated to the sole heiress of its fortunes. The elderly Hokage had gently informed her that, in due time, she would come into possession of the sum of her bygone family's belongings. This led to the unusual situation of opportunists.

She literally hid in the shadows almost full time now. News of her eventual riches had spread and she was practically assaulted by every young male in Konoha. "_Thank God they haven't found out where I live,_" she thought, "_I would never have a moment's peace…_"

A tiny part of her wanted to scream and shout at each and every boy that approached her; it was obvious what they wanted. Their attempts to gain her hand and, by proxy, her inheritance were insultingly obvious. But her upbringing held her in check- it was ingrained in her to never act out under any circumstances. She simply stewed in silence, although her quiet demeanor did nothing to deter any of the would-be suitors. "_Why can't I stand up for myself? Am I just going to keep relying on Naruto…?_"

A sneeze echoed down the street from her position and she cracked a humble smile at that old superstition. But when a familiar voice swore rather profusely afterwards, she froze in place. "_I-it couldn't be…_" She maneuvered through the alley and peered into the street. Sure enough, there was her blonde crush. Her eyes softened when she saw him but hardened once again when she saw yet another rather attractive individual following closely behind. "_Is that another girl?_"

But the Hyuuga couldn't hear the duo as she trailed them from the shadows. The Uzumaki openly flipped off and cursed everyone who spared him an angry glance while Haku nervously attempted to appease the blonde.

"Master," the effeminate boy pleaded, "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't anger everyone…"

"Ah, fuck them," he sneered at some woman who glared daggers at him, "That's right, assholes! I'm back!"

A shopkeeper spoke up. "Go back to your exile, murderer!"

Naruto cracked his bloody smile at the offender, waltzed over to his stand, and reeled back his arm to break the man's nose. He stopped when Haku nabbed his arm at the last possible second.

"Master," the demure ice user begged once more, "Please stop…"

The blonde immortal shook his arm free and eyed his new subordinate dangerously. "Don't touch me," he commanded, "Ever."

He bowed in acknowledgement before backing away to give his new lord some space. When the blonde continued on his way, Haku obediently followed him as he was lost in his own thoughts. "_He is… not a terrible person,_" he observed, "_Something has happened to him in the past to make him lose faith in people._" He reflected on that musing; he had been much the same way in his youth. When he was abandoned, he felt absolutely worthless- a waste of air. He wouldn't admit it, but he felt a twinge of animosity towards the world that left him to die simply because of his special blood. "_But then lord Zabuza came along._" He smiled at the memory- things changed for the better after that encounter. Maybe that was all his new master needed? Someone to accept him without exception…

"Damn it," said immortal's voice broke Haku from his thoughts, "Where the hell is she?"

The effeminate bloodline user cocked his head. "Who are you looking for, master?" He was under the impression that the immortal would head home after dropping off… Zabuza's head at the Hokage tower.

For once, the blonde looked directly at the boy. "A bitch named Asha. Can't miss her- turquoise hair, dresses like a hooker…"

Haku blushed at his master's words- he was still as innocent as they come. "D-does this 'Asha' stay in any one place?"

Naruto shrugged. "Nah, she jumps around. I thought she'd be in the red light district, but it looks like she's moved on…"

Haku blushed again. He had no idea the Jashin follower could be so nonchalant about walking into so many brothels.

"Screw it," the Uzumaki suddenly halted midstride, "I'm goin' home. I'll find her later."

"Yes, master…"

And so the duo traversed the village with a Hyuuga in tow, walking down the winding streets until they came upon a housing complex. Haku figured that his master lived here, but why did the boy stop at a door he was so obviously aiming for? "_What's that sound?_" he wondered, the blood running to his cheeks when he realized they were the sounds of a woman… 'having fun'.

Naruto looked none too happy. "Oh, you can't be serious." He kicked his door in, barged into his bedroom, and sneered at the sight. "For the love of Jashin! On _my_ bed?!"

Asha glanced at the newcomer with her perverse smile, not even having the common decency to remove her hand from between her legs. "Naruto," she shivered in ecstasy, "You're back quick…"

"Get the fuck off my bed!"

She giggled and obeyed, but that didn't lower the volume in Naruto's voice.

"Oh, fucking gross! The sheets are wet!"

The fellow immortal chuckled with a smile and wrapped her previously busy arm around the blonde's shoulder. "Sorry about that. So," she brought her lips to his ear, "You ready to make due on our… deal?"

He resisted the urge to spit in her face. "Yeah, this way." As he led the female murderer out of his bedroom, he inquired, "You keep Deadman away from Hinata like I asked?"

"I haven't even _seen_ Deadman since you left."

He eyed her intrepidly. "You're kidding. Did he skip town?!"

She shrugged. "Looks that way."

"Then why did you stick around?"

Her lips cracked into a luscious grin. "Because you still owe me."

"Ugh…" he muttered, "After all that work, there wasn't even a reason…" When they approached the outer door, he aimed a palm at a thoroughly confused Haku. "Asha, Haku. Haku, Asha."

The female immortal's carnal instincts immediately took over and she moved behind the boy, wrapping her arms around him and slowly digging her hands into his clothes. "Oh, she's so cute…"

"Uh… um… master?" The ice user's face resembled a tomato; Asha's hands were gradually making their way to embarrassing places.

"Haku," the blonde addressed the blushing boy, "Keep Asha company as long as she wants you. Don't worry," he chuckled, "It looks like she likes you, so you don't have to worry about dying anytime soon."

He gulped. "_D-dying?!_"

"Ooh, Naruto," Asha cooed as her hand slid towards the boy's center, "She's such a cute girl…" As if on cue, her hand found something unexpected and her eyes widened in surprise. Quick as the wind, she pulled Haku's pants forward and glanced into them before returning her wide-eyed gaze to the Uzumaki. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed with a hysterical smile, "You brought a shemale!" Squealing like a four year old girl, she released Haku, embraced Naruto, and planted the roughest kiss she could conjure on his lips. Both were either too ecstatic or confused to notice a nearby gasp.

While Hinata didn't have a clear view of the scene, she did see Asha suddenly hug her crush and kiss him. Her hands instantly covered her mouth when she squeaked, but otherwise her brain froze. Was Asha even more competition for Naruto's attention?

When the blonde was freed, he didn't know what to think. He stood there with a blank expression while Asha nabbed a shaky Haku and dove back into his apartment. Seconds passed, and the young immortal finally shook his head to clear it. "Hey, get out of my house!" When no coherent reply came, he repeated the order. "I mean it, Asha! Get out of my…" an excited moan emanated from his bedroom, "Oh, forget it…" Defeated, he shut his door against the cries of both aggressor and victim alike and started back the way he came, grumbling something about horny bitches and addiction. That was when he ran into the Hyuuga who appeared to be frozen in place. "Hinata? What're you doing here?"

It took her a full second to respond. "Um… uh… Naruto! W-what j-just happened h-here?"

He glanced back and sneered at the increasing volume. "Asha just took over my apartment. Damn bitch…"

The shy girl's eyes trailed to the ground. "_Did that k-kiss not mean anything or is he avoiding my question?_"

The blonde looked back at her and noticed her downcast gaze. "You find Anko like I told you to?"

"Y-yes!" she yelped, unsure of what her crush felt about being kissed by an attractive woman.

"You stay with her?"

"Yes," she nodded in resignation.

"You have a place in mind now?"

"D-do I… what?"

"Were you waiting for me to get back before finding another place to stay?"

She could hear the irritation in his tone, although she knew that he was actually being exceedingly patient with her. "N-not really…" In truth, she was actually thankful that her current living situation included someone else, even if they were competition. It helped keep her mind off of things.

"So you're still staying with Anko."

"Yes…"

"Alright," he nodded in satisfaction, "Looks like I've got a place to stay, too." With that, he started walking off.

Hinata's eyes almost fell out of her head. "_H-he's going to s-stay in the same house as me?!_" Under normal circumstances, this would have been a dream come true. In fact, she wondered if it still wasn't. She started after the blonde and stumbled over her feet as she did so.

Naruto glanced back and stopped. He had been so pissed off over Asha invading his home that it hadn't fully hit him that the ultimate source of pleasure now stood behind him. His trademark grin found its way onto his mouth and he reached out to touch the Hyuuga's pale face.

Said girl gasped at his touch and instinctively recoiled. Seeing the blonde's smile widen at her retreat, she composed herself as best she could and winced as he cradled her face with hands caked in dry blood.

"Come on," he whispered when he was close to her face, "Where's that fear from before? You can't tell me it's completely gone…"

She forced a weak smile and trembled under his light touch. "I-I'm not afraid…"

His grin died a little. "Really? Then why should I keep you around?"

She gaped like a fish before finding her voice. "B-because… because I w-want to be here… for… you…" Her voice was so tiny at the end that she wondered if he'd even heard her.

He did, but he had found a smidgen of blood that hadn't yet hardened on his palm that attracted his attention. With careful precision, he worked the drop of ooze onto his finger then ran it across her lips. It painted them a fantastic crimson that contrasted her pale features with amazing clarity, and he found that he had to get a closer look.

Hinata's face reddened to match her lips when the Uzumaki kept nearing her, and the taste of copper on her lips was no longer palpable as the blonde came uncomfortably close. "_I-Is he…?_"

Naruto recalled the fresh memory of Asha's 'affection' and briefly wondered how he'd react to it a second time. Curiosity notwithstanding, he closed the gap between their lips and almost kissed the Hyuuga. The only thing that kept him from going through with it was the sudden limpness of her body.

"_What am I doing?_" he wondered sullenly. This was not something Jashin's devout could experience. "_Our lives are meant for killing, not pleasure. Especially not with someone…_" He gazed at the unconscious girl in his arms and holstered her over his shoulders before carrying her away with a growing smirk. "_But she does look beautiful with a little blood…_"

* * *

Fluff lovers unite... maybe.

So, what do you guys think of my version of the nine-tailed fox? I think it's cool... but I'm a little biased, so yeah...

Anyway, the fox's 'appearance' will be fully explained later on (and, unlike Kishimoto, I actually have a worked out explanation).

How long will Haku live?! Or will he adapt to his environment to survive?! Only time will tell...

Also, one of the characters I have to do for one of my classes will be loosely based off what I believe Asha should look like. When she's done (she will be- she's part of an actual assignment), I'll post up her and the rest of her brothers and sisters (who should _not_ resemble anyone from this fic... or any other, for that matter).

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this. Stay tuned for more.


	6. Everyone Picks Sides! Will you?

Holy crap, this took a while to do! But I did it!

I've been busy lately. Real busy. So busy, in fact, that I've rarely had any time to myself. Sucks to be me, no?

Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Hinata couldn't believe her ears; Naruto was going to live with her? Granted, it would be under Anko's roof, but it was still a surreal scenario to her. Her heart beat so hard in her chest that she wondered if it would pound its way past her ribcage. When she awoke against his back, he let her go and continued forward while she stayed several steps behind, her face red as a tomato.

"_W-why does he want to stay with me?_" She panicked before remembering that the immortal's 'associate' had sequestered his apartment in lieu of intense mind raping, amongst other things. "_W-what if something happens? W-what if…_" Her mind wandered with scenarios where the Mitarashi wasn't home and it was just them. The soft spoken logic in her mind whispered that the blonde was too bloodthirsty for her fantasies, but a girl could dream, couldn't she? She was so lost in her daydreams that it took a pair of irritated azure eyes glaring at her from point blank to wake her from her conscious sleep.

"Damn it Hinata, are you awake?"

"Oh! Y-yes!" she squeaked.

He grinned; there was a refreshing jumpy look in her eyes. "Where's Anko live?"

"Ah… um… this way." Her voice came out so tiny that she barely heard it herself, but the blonde didn't seem to care. She started towards the snake charmer's place and the blonde kept pace. Hinata realized that the immortal was well inside her comfort zone, and she was so nervous that she couldn't even tell if she held her breath or not. Out of nowhere, the Jashin follower coiled his free arm around her neck and traced his index finger along the bottom of her chin in a continuous motion. Her cheeks felt hot and flushed, but she dared not raise her hands to them to find out. It was all she could do to walk forward without plowing face first into the dirt.

Meanwhile, Naruto's smile and occasional chuckle lived on with mounting intensity. He was having the time of his life flustering the girl at his side. "_Since she's not quite as afraid as before,_" he reasoned, "_I can make do with this. This is satisfying enough for now. Look at her! She's freaking out so great!_" His unnerving smile persisted alongside its corresponding hand all the way to an unfamiliar apartment. Upon arrival, the immortal released Hinata, swung the door in, and marched in as if it were his own home. Without examining the place one iota, he strolled into the living room and dropped face first into the couch, a light snore making itself heard after a few moments. He hadn't slept for days, and he was exhausted.

All this was lost on the Mitarashi, who resided within the kitchen. She flat-out missed the blonde as he strolled by the doorway, but she caught the Hyuuga when the shy girl came into view. "Hey, Hinata!" she called with trace amounts of glee in her eyes, "Check this out- I'm up for consideration in overseeing the Chunin exams this year."

Hinata stammered for a moment, politeness dictating that she congratulate Anko while logic demanded she let the woman know Naruto was now asleep on her couch. "Ah… um… That's nice…"

The snake charmer frowned; she hadn't known the soft spoken girl long, but it was long enough to tell when something was wrong. "What's up?" she stood from her chair, "Did something happen?"

"Uh… living room… Naruto…" That was all she could voice before the sweets lover gaped and darted from the room.

Sure enough, there was the blonde on the comfy furniture snoozing away. Anko loomed over him for a moment before sinking to her knees and scrubbing the boy's unruly hair with a gentle hand and a smile. "Safe and sound, aren't ya?" she whispered, glad the immortal was back and officially out of harm's way.

Hinata's eyes fell as she watched the passive interaction between the two. "_Why can't I be that way?_" she groaned, "_Why does Anko have the strength to do what I can't? Why am I so weak?_"

Anko smirked to herself, stood, and proceeded back to the kitchen to complete her meal. On the way, she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and leaned into her ear. "Why don't you sit down and wait for him to wake up? I'm sure he'd like the company."

On cue, Hinata's cheeks reddened at the prospect of waiting on the blonde and she regarded the leaving Mitarashi with nervous eyes. Was the snake charmer being generous to her feelings? Or did the older jonin possess affections of her own and was merely acting in accordance to them? Both options were equally valid to the shy Hyuuga, the latter gaining strength now that she had witnessed Anko's unusual gentleness.

She decided to not dwell on it and took a seat, only to have those thoughts flood back into her mind in an instant. Her worry grew with each passing moment and she began to wonder if she would ever change, especially now that the female jonin had proven that she harbored something towards the blonde. The blue-haired girl sank further into her chair with every negative thought, essentially morphing into a lump. The world seemed so cold and lonely now that Anko had professed interest in her crush, and it took a familiar voice calling out from the door to break her from her downcast revelry.

"Anko," Kurenai called as she entered, "You home?"

Said woman greeted her longtime friend from the kitchen. "Kurenai! Want something to drink?"

"I'm fine. I just came to see Hinata. Is she here?"

"Yeah." She had told the Yuhi that the Hyuuga on team eight would be staying with her until further notice. "She's in the living room."

"Thanks." The illusion mistress's footsteps resounded from the short hall and she appeared in the living room. Her illustrious eyes found Hinata seated opposite the couch and she smiled at her shy charge. "Hello, Hinata."

"Um… g-good afternoon, teacher…" She noticed that her instructor hadn't yet seen Naruto. "H-how are you today?"

"I'm well. How about you? How is your sister faring?"

"I-I am doing well, and Hanabi's doing better. The hospital will release her in two more days if nothing happens."

Kurenai's smile softened. "That's good to hear. I just came by to tell you that team eight is resuming missions tomorrow so you'll be ready for it."

The shy Hyuuga drank this in. Ever since the demise of her clan, her assignments had been marginalized until further notice. "What time should I be there?"

"Be there at eight. We'll be doing some light training until noon, and then we'll receive our missions." She leaned against the back of the couch and her lowered stance finally offered her a view of the furniture's smelly occupant. "I just saw Kiba, and he's… really…" she noticed the mass of ebony robes and noted the mop of golden tangled hair, "Oh my God! Uzumaki!" The sudden yell jolted Hinata from her semi-relaxed state and prompted Anko to emerge from the kitchen with nervous eyes.

"Kurenai!" the Mitarashi called, "What's wrong?!"

"It's… that!" she aimed a finger at the snoozing blonde, "You've got a murderer in your house!"

The Hyuuga leapt to her feet with her fists balled across her chest in an unconscious move to shield herself from danger as well as grasp control of the deteriorating situation. "N-no!"

The Yuhi eyed her student with shock; was the shy girl standing up for this infamous killer? "Hinata…" she muttered, drawing a kunai to remove the blonde stain from the village, "What are you doing? Are you defending him?"

"Uh…" the boy in question stirred, "Shut up, people…" This earned a glare from the woman looming over him and was followed by a quick strike.

By this point, Anko had rushed over to restrain Kurenai and failed; the illusion mistress promptly buried the knife in the immortal's skull, convinced that she was nullifying a threat to Konoha. Imagine her surprise when the boy shot up and eyed her with dreariness and rage.

"In the fucking head?!" the Uzumaki shrieked as a hand went for the offending weapon, "Dead woman!" He lunged over the back of the stained furniture, clawing for his attacker's throat. His lungs expulsed a nasty snarl and he finally yanked the blade from his head and slashed at the retreating woman. Realizing that she was faster, his free arm went for his modified javelin when everything stopped all of a sudden. He glared at the limbs wrapped around him and swiveled his head in place. "Anko! What the hell are you doing?! Let go!"

This only tightened her grip; she saw the fire in the boy's eyes and knew he was on the warpath. "_But she did just try to kill him. No! Can't think like that! I'm here to help him, get him to trust people again. No one will take the first step, so he'll have to do it…_" She lowered her mouth to his ear and whispered, "Just calm down. You're still alive…"

His voice warped and the Mitarashi could have sworn she saw them become bloodshot in an instant. "She tried to kill me! This bitch tried to kill me in my sleep! Let me go! She's dead!"

Anko persevered in her hold, bearing the volley of subdued hits with numerous winces. Naruto had to learn to take the high road if there was any hope of enjoying the good things in life, and this lone fact drove her to hang onto him and take all the punishment he could dish out.

Meanwhile, Hinata was horrified. She stood behind the struggling trio with hands cupped over her mouth. She didn't know what to do. "_Kurenai… Naruto…_" When her pale eyes saw the Yuhi recover from the initial shock and approach the restrained blonde with another weapon in hand, her feet moved on their own.

The would-be assassin strode towards the raging boy with more kunai in hand. "That's it, Anko," she couldn't hear her longtime friend's mutterings, "Hold him for me!" She raised her hand for another bladed blow when the shy Hyuuga darted between her and the killer. "Hinata! Get out of the way!"

Hinata wouldn't be deterred, though- not this time. "_If Anko has the strength to… love… Naruto, then I must as well. If only to save him from himself._" When her teacher attempted to shove her to the side, she utilized what little she knew of the Hyuuga fighting style to push the woman back. When Kurenai stumbled to regain her footing, Hinata took the initiative and forced her instructor out the front door before slamming the wooden barricade shut behind her.

"Hinata!" the illusion user chided, "What are you doing?! Uzumaki's a murderer, a cold-blooded killer! Why are you protecting him?!"

"He's not!" was the instant response. A heartbeat later, the shy preteen's ingrained politeness ordered her to back off and apologize, and she responded in kind by retreating into her oversized jacket. "He's… not…"

The recent jonin's brilliant eyes narrowed and she lowered herself to her student's level. "Why are defending him, Hinata?" Her composure was back. "Why are you standing up for a murderer?"

"Because… um…" Her old habits prevailed, and her mind bemoaned this fact. "Because he's still kind…"

"Oh my God," the Yuhi stood and ran exasperated hands through her dark hair, "He's brainwashed you. Hinata," her hands went to the girl's shoulders and the two made eye contact, "You have to stay away from him. He's dangerous."

"B-but…"

"I don't know what he's said to you, but he is not a good person. He murders people- he can't be trusted."

"B-but…" her eyes teared up, "He s-saved me from f-father and D-Deadman." At this point, her panicked mental state was looking for any evidence to the contrary. "A-and no one ever t-tried to understand him…"

"Hinata, he's cruel. If you stand by him, he'll only hurt you."

This statement brought a rare moment of insight to the shy girl, and it was just enough to keep her from frantic tears. Her head rose and she looked into her teacher's concerned eyes with pale orbs, albeit with a great deal of nervous apprehension. "I… I know he's cruel… b-but he's done m-many things for me… a-and he's never hurt me…" She knew that wasn't completely true- he did stab her to injure Neji, but that was an all-or-nothing situation. If he hadn't done that, she would have surely perished a moment later.

The sudden justification of Naruto's actions surprised the Yuhi, especially considering the individual standing up for him. She blinked for several seconds, unsure what to think. "Hinata," she leaned in closer, "I won't tell you what to do- you're too old for that- but be careful. No matter whom you may think he is, Uzumaki is still a killer."

The shy girl eyed her teacher with newfound resolve, although it was still weak by any normal person's standards. "There is still s-some kindness in Naruto. He is not a monster."

Kurenai buckled under this confidence only because she knew that any amount of self-esteem meant worlds from Hinata's perspective. She stood in place and regarded her subordinate one last time while ignoring the screams and promises of death emanating from within Anko's abode. Something cold and calculating flashed in the illusion user's eyes and she darted away, leaving the Hyuuga to her own devices.

Said girl heaved a deep sigh. The sudden bout of confidence was a real drain on her emotions, but a tiny smile found her lips when the realization struck: she had grown stronger. "_It's not very much… but at least I know I have the strength to help Naruto._" With that positive note ringing in her head, she entered the loud apartment again and addressed the furious boy with a gentle voice that gave way to trepidation. "She's gone."

The Uzumaki broke his searching gaze from a bruised Mitarashi and eyed the girl before him. "She's what?! Why did you let her go?!"

She shrank before the blonde, hoping that the darkening patches of skin on Anko's cheeks and arms weren't too serious. "S-she doesn't k-know what kind of person you are…"

"She tried to _kill_ me!" He lunged but was held back by the snake charmer.

"Naruto," said sweets lover kept her voice low in the boy's ear, "You're immortal. You can't die…"

"She didn't know that! She _wanted_ to kill me!" His voice betrayed inhuman quantities of rage.

"N-Naruto… please…" Hinata fought to approach the blonde. Her hands quivered in hesitation when she executed her next course of action- she embraced him. She could feel the blood rushing to her head as well as the boy's muscles tense at her presence, but she persisted in the hopes that it would calm the firestorm known as Uzumaki.

Naruto battled against the physically stronger Anko to take out some of his frustration on the girl hugging him, and although he made great headway against the older jonin, he failed. In the end, Orochimaru's reject possessed more muscle mass than him and he was forced to take deep breaths to replenish the spent oxygen in his lungs. At the same time, he breathed in an interesting scent- Hinata's hair was in his face. "_This is different._" Normally, his nostrils were choked with dried blood from victims or self-inflicted wounds, so he rarely smelled anything other than dull copper. But since the Hyuuga's organic fibers were practically jammed up his nose, he could smell faint traces of something sweet and acrid. That in itself meant nothing to him, but mixed with the stench of blood… "_It's… not bad._"

Soon enough, both females felt the boy give up the ghost. Anko's battered steel grip relaxed but her arms did not move, essentially trapping the blonde between two close embraces.

"Let go," the Jashin believer stated with an eerie calm. With the rush of a new scent, his anger had been allowed to run its course without killing anyone for a change. The kunoichis did as he demanded in a calm fashion, and he regarded them with tired eyes. "Why did you do that?"

Both females remained serious. "Which part?" the Mitarashi elaborated.

"Keep me from killing her."

"Naruto," she placed a friendly hand on his shoulder despite his following stare, "Sometimes, you have to take the high road for people to accept you."

"She tried to kill me…"

"I know, but… you can't die. If all you do is kill those who've wronged you, then you'll scare away anyone who might want to be a friend."

His heartless glare persisted. "I don't want friends."

She removed her hand and regarded him with a sad smile. "Then what are we?"

He glanced back and forth between the two and didn't answer. He yawned instead. "I'm tired," he started for the couch again, slowing as he passed the shy Hyuuga. His eyes met hers and he sniffed the air in disappointment. "Too far away," he muttered, earning a confused look from the quiet girl. He crashed on the couch again, further staining it with blood dripping from the gaping hole in the back of his head before slipping into unbiased slumber.

-----

To Sarutobi, the position of Hokage entailed many things. To begin, it placed the safety and well-being of Konoha on his shoulders and he was duty bound to put his home first and foremost amongst all priorities. Second, there was the overseeing of missions. This included all aspects of shinobi life: team assignments, duties, and public training regimes. Last, but certainly not least, were the civilians.

This last mention was a point of contention for the man, especially now that he was getting along in years. Shortly after his initial instatement so many years ago, he organized the impromptu civilian council and made it official business. Naturally, he had final say over their decisions whenever military issues were involved, seeing as how civilian life was made possible by the sacrifices of Konoha's finest. But as the years passed, so did the growth of the council's influence. New seats had been created and filled with members who were sometimes not so… understanding of the importance of Sarutobi's profession and all that it entailed. This led to many sleepless nights and pounding headaches over the years.

Currently, the aged Hokage trudged through a migraine of epic proportions.

"All I'm saying is this," one of the older representatives concluded, "Ever since the…" he felt Sarutobi's lethal glare, "Uzumaki left, the number of murders has decreased significantly. Now _some_ people may disagree and call this coincidence, but I think we should invesitgate."

The head ninja knew that emphasis was for him and sighed. "Why don't you just come out and say it: you think Naruto Uzumaki is responsible for all the murders in Konoha." The ensuing silence confirmed his assertion. "The fact of the matter is, I have multiple eyewitnesses that confirm his innocence in every case." That last part wasn't quite true, but it didn't hurt to fudge the numbers when such matters surfaced.

"How reliable are these eyewitnesses?"

This infuriated Sarutobi, although he did his best to keep his voice from echoing down the street. "They are ninjas under my command, and I suggest that you do not question the integrity of those who protect you."

"Protect us?" he argued with a straight face, "Like the Uzumaki?"

The aged shinobi took a deep breath to stem his nerves and glared daggers at the insolent councilor. "Naruto Uzumaki has and will continue to provide Konoha with invaluable services that have yet to be found in any other village." Even he knew that was a vague answer, and he hoped the arrogant man wouldn't push it.

Sadly, he did. "Invaluable services? Like what? The demon…?" The instant that word left his mouth, he clenched his jaw.

Sarutobi's sunken eyes promised certain death. "I suggest you not violate any working laws. Now sit down before you make a fool of yourself." In all honesty, the councilor had crossed that boundary long ago. The older member acquiesced with subdued fright and took a seat, only to be replaced by another. This time, the speaker was one of the Hokage's advisors, Koharu.

"Since this is a rather heated subject, I suggest we change topics."

The Hokage glanced at his former teammate, wary of her next words.

"I'm sure all of you are aware of the sudden slaughter of the Hyuuga clan. Currently, there are only eight surviving members, six of which now suffer from irreparable mental damage and will undoubtedly be permanent residents in the asylum. This begs the question of how we will deal with the sudden removal of one of our most esteemed bloodlines?"

The head ninja groaned on the inside; his old squad mates were out to torture him today.

One of the other women present- the widow Haruno- stood from her seat. Ever since her husband's untimely demise, she had been allowed to attend in his stead. Her bitterness was as frigid as the harshest winter. "I believe that this is a nonissue. After all, haven't we made due without the Uchiha clan for years?" Murmurs penetrated the assembled and quieted with Koharu clearing her throat. Sarutobi listened, curious as to where this would lead.

"While that is true, we have always maintained another powerful bloodline in the Uchiha's stead. Now that the Byakugan has suddenly been cut down to two members, we should at least consider drastic measures for its revival."

One man spoke up without rising- a retired ninja who held a lower position. "The two survivors are girls, right? How about arranged marriages?" Those in attendance muttered amongst themselves upon hearing the suggestion, and their response sounded positive for the most part.

Koharu gave the barest of nods. "That is a viable option. Any others?"

Another voice spoke up. "How about a marriage between Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga? You know, the best of both bloodlines?" More muttering traversed the crowd. Sarutobi unhooked his fingers to step in and was surprised to find the ever silent Danzo rise from his position.

"That would be unwise," the war hawk stated, "Their offspring would be born with both genes, and if any one member is captured then both bloodlines could be lost rather than one." For once in his life, the man offered sound logic that went hand in hand with personal rights. But the Hokage had a feeling that would change in due time.

"I disagree," Koharu stated, "While I see the reason in Danzo's words, I believe the reward of a dual bloodline is worth the risk. Besides, there is always Hanabi Hyuuga- her eventual marriage would keep the Byakugan alive separately from a hybrid bloodline. Any other suggestions?" When no one spoke up, she continued. "All those in favor of this proposition, cast your vote."

Sarutobi rose from his chair like a bolt of lightening. "Before you vote, consider this: what if these two were your sons or daughters? Would you deny your own children the right to choose a partner in favor of keeping your family name alive? Would you demand that these children unwillingly give themselves to another regardless of what they want? History has proven time and again that clans and bloodlines die off- this situation is no different from those clans that have long since faded into history. This is simply another turning point in the natural order of things." He scanned the attentive blank eyes and moved on to his second point, one that he believed would not cater to the empathy of those without the essential emotion. "Also keep in mind that Danzo is correct- any children with this hybrid bloodline would possess genes from both parents. If one of their offspring were ever captured, then both bloodlines would fall into enemy hands. Is it worth the risk of exposing all our secrets in order to culture two bloodlines sooner rather than wait and assure their rebirth separately?" He left his inquiry hanging and hoped to any deity listening, Jashin included, that these people heard him. "_They can be so ignorant at times…_"

Koharu eyed her former teammate a moment longer then readdressed the assembly. "If there is nothing further, then we shall cast our vote. All those against an arranged union between the Uchiha and Hyuuga…" A selection of hands shot up and were joined by others who took their time considering. "And all those for the union…" A volley of open palms reached skyward and the vote was sealed. Sarutobi eyed the floor as the votes were tallied- the civilians couldn't count as quickly as shinobi.

It was close, but the measure had passed. "_Collection of damn fools…_"

As the floor opened once again, the widow Haruno stood from her seat and regarded those in attendance with an icy thousand yard stare. "Since we're already on the topic of Sasuke Uchiha, I believe some discussion regarding the upcoming Chunin exams is necessary…"

-----

Hours later, Sarutobi sat in his office, his brain grieving over the sheer shortsightedness and borderline retardation of the civilian council. Following the ruling on the arranged unions, the vast majority of the council decided- with the widow Haruno's prodding- that Sasuke Uchiha be allowed to participate in the upcoming Chunin exams. Why she of all people wanted this he hadn't a clue, but it was troubling on many levels.

First, it was favoritism of the worst kind. Ever since Naruto's individual assignment, team seven had been degraded to simple missions even most genin didn't usually receive. "_I couldn't help that one, though. That team has the worst track record of all of them._" It was true. Between the blonde killer's absence and the death and subsequent grieving of Sakura's father, Kakashi's squad hadn't seen much action of any kind. The missions were meant to initiate teamwork on a basic level, seeing as how the Uzumaki's presence would most likely deteriorate this concept, and according to the Hatake it was barely working. "_It's slow. Too slow._"

Secondly, only whole teams could partake in the exams. Team seven existed on paper and not much more. Sasuke would need a squad, and the council decided that Gai's team would be a perfect fit. Not only was there a position open with the death of Neji Hyuuga, but the remaining genin were exceptional as well. And with Gai's overdeveloped training regimes, the council just knew the Uchiha would flourish under those conditions.

"_It's odd, though,_" he thought, "_It's not like they're expecting him to make the final cut. He hasn't even activated his Sharingan, and they know this. Hell, someone even brought it up! It's all about building up Sasuke's skills in battlefield conditions._" In truth, this was admirable- the council had actually made an honest effort to create the ultimate warrior for Konoha in this phase of their decision. It still didn't excuse the fact that they completely ignored the Hyuuga girls' plight or take into account the Uchiha's known mental instability.

When Hinata came to mind, his brain darted to and fro for a solution to the arranged marriages. He was no closer to an answer than when he began when the door opened and a disgustingly familiar figure entered the room.

"Danzo."

"Sarutobi."

For a moment, both experienced shinobi exchanged empty stares. "What did you come here for?"

The aged war hawk regarded the Hokage with his ever blank eye. "I have come here to discuss the arranged marriages decided upon in today's meeting."

"You too?" he groaned. This was the last thing he needed.

"That is incorrect- I maintain my earlier stance. While I admit that a hybrid bloodline possesses certain advantages, I firmly believe that the risks far outweigh the benefits."

The head ninja's brow rose- he hadn't expected Danzo to approach him on such friendly terms. "So you're against the arranged marriages?"

"Incorrect. I _am_ in favor of arranged marriages, just not between the Uchiha and one of the Hyuuga siblings. If their unions are separate, it will be easier to control the bloodlines and their revival can be efficiently regulated."

The Hokage grimaced; this was the Danzo he knew. "Then why come to me? You know I'm going to oppose the arranged unions."

"But we agree on one point: Uchiha and Hyuuga must be kept separate."

He nodded in trepidation; the man had a point. "Well then, what do you suggest we do?"

The war hawk appeared to relax yet remained perfectly upright. "Over the years, you have foolishly bound yourself to the council's bidding."

Sarutobi's aged eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I am suggesting that we simply eliminate the source of our problems."

The head ninja slammed a fist against his desk. "You mean kill the council?" He spoke with subdued anger. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"I never said 'kill'. I am merely suggesting that we persuade enough council members to our point of view then overturn the ruling."

The wise sage calmed in the face of this logic, but only a little. "And how do you propose we do that? They're always stubborn once they've made up their minds."

"They can be petitioned in numerous ways." Any ninja worth his salt knew this was a nice way to say 'replace, bribe, or kill'. Danzo chose his words with great care.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and considered the war hawk's proposal. "_With his help, I can win half the battle. But once Sasuke and Hinata have been deemed inappropriate for each other, they'll simply be set up with others. And by that point, Danzo will be an opponent._" He thought hard, recalling the meeting that dispersed hours ago. "_There were a few voters who really took their time to think about it on both sides. I'm certain there were enough to oppose any arranged marriages should they be persuaded, but I'll have to act quickly. And I can't simply bring up this issue every meeting- by simple repetition, they'll become reinforced in their decision and I'll look like a bumbling old man complaining that he can't get his way. I'll have to be careful; time things just right. I may only have one shot at overturning this whole vile decision._" With that train of thought, he leaned forward and locked gazes with the war hawk.

"Danzo, you've got a deal. How will we proceed?"

-----

The next morning, Naruto strolled down the dusty road towards the training grounds. Now that he was back, he had to rejoin his team until old man Hokage graced him with another suicide mission. That wouldn't be for a while though, and he knew it. As much as he despised it, he had to reconnect with his teammates until such a glorious assignment flew his way again. His mind fluttered with comments about everyone around him, and he entertained thoughts of slaughtering everyone in sight several times during his trek. But before he could even think about acting on his murderous impulses, a shrill voice caught his attention.

"Naruto!" a familiar female face appeared nearby and its owner followed the boy even though he didn't slow.

He turned toward her with dead azure eyes. "Ino…"

"I can't believe it!" She violated the blonde's unspoken radius of solitude and came within feet of him. "You're alive!"

"Yep," he stated, "And so are you… for now."

She frowned. "_What a weird thing to say._" Without thinking, she slapped him on the shoulder and continued despite his lethal glare. "So how did you do it?"

He said nothing for a moment in the hopes that he could stare her to death. When she failed to burst into flame, he responded. "I took off his head."

"What?! How the hell did you do that?! Even Asuma couldn't touch him!"

"Then Asuma's a hack." Why wouldn't she go away?

"Hey, don't say that." She slapped him on the shoulder again. "He's a great teacher- he kept us alive."

The blonde killer eyed her again, hoping that perhaps a meteor would fall from the sky and crush her this time. Nope… "Whatever you say…"

A moment of awkward silence passed between the two blondes and Ino grew annoyed at the boy's stubbornness. "Seriously though, how did you do it? That guy was a missing ninja…"

"Oh, that's it!" he shouted to the sky and unsheathed his trademark weapon. The moment it left its cloth scabbard, he brought it down on the Yamanaka but failed to kill her- the spear end of the javelin whacked her on the head rather than the bladed side. His hands bled from holding the wrong end but he thought nothing of it.

Dazed and confused, Ino had enough presence of mind to scurry away from her attacker and hurl verbal jabs at him. "What the hell was that for?!" she shrieked, "That hurt! What are you trying to do, kill me?!"

Naruto stood in silent debate over whether or not it was worth the effort to pursue and kill her. "Yeah, actually."

The blonde mind jumper's eyes went wide when she heard his response. "Wha…? Do… you really mean that?"

"Every word of it," he sneered as he replaced his javelin and turned to walk away.

Ino sputtered; she didn't know what to think about the Uzumaki. "So I try to talk to you and you try to kill me?!"

"That's about it," he replied without turning around.

"Why?!"

His feet faltered and he paused for a brief moment. His azure eyes glanced to the sky in thought and he shrugged. "Because I can?"

Ino stood to her shaky feet in disbelief. "_He just tried to kill me because he can?! There's no way anyone would do that!_" She felt lightheaded, and that allowed her to bypass any verbal protocol her thoughts would have gone through on their way to her mouth. "Everyone's right about you! You _are_ a monster!"

Naruto abruptly halted and glared at her, his lips contorting into neither a smile nor a sneer. "Am I?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes! You just tried to kill me for talking to you! What kind of person does that?!"

The blonde killer turned away again and answered in a faraway voice. "A monster, apparently…" He strolled away without another word.

Ino, however, picked up on something. Being of the female gender, she was predisposed to picking up on people's moods better than males. This instinct took notice of the Uzumaki's demeanor and the tone of his voice when he confirmed that he was indeed a monster. "_He really believes that, doesn't he?_" Now that the blood was beginning to flow normally, she realized that while he struck her a physical blow she had verbally returned the favor. Furthermore, his final words rang with more emotion than he had probably meant to convey. "_He sounded… hurt?_"

Naruto was a mystery to the blonde kunoichi; he had always been a violent being who acted on his outbursts for as long as she'd known him, but was there some underlying motive to his actions? If there was anything Ino Yamanaka loathed, it was a mystery.

"_Why did he sound so sad about that?_" She winced, her head throbbing in pain. "_I'm gonna have a headache all day…_"

-----

While Ino dealt with her pounding head, Naruto arrived at the designated meeting place for his team. Sakura and Sasuke were there, both of them quiet for once. The blonde noticed the Haruno shoot a blank glance at him and he smiled in return, a gesture that was cultivated to mean that he enjoyed any misery bestowed on anyone. She seemed to understand this by now and no longer possessed the will to go out of her way to bully him. Not that he could be bullied…

Minutes after the blonde's appearance, Kakashi arrived. He was actually on time today, but his presence carried a certain mood that couldn't bode well for anyone. The Hatake spared a glance at each of his subordinates and sighed; today was going to be a long day.

"You're on time!" Sakura yelped, unbelieving that her instructor was capable of such a thing.

"Yeah, about that…" he hesitated as he addressed Sakura and Naruto, "I've got bad news for you two."

The pink-haired girl became sullen while her blonde teammate remained indifferent. Sakura still didn't understand why nothing ever fazed her fellow squad mate. "What is it?"

"Well…" he didn't know how to word it, so he decided to be blunt. "The village council's decided that Sasuke should participate in the upcoming Chunin exams."

The Haruno frowned; her mother had told her of these examinations and she concluded that they wouldn't be prepared for a while given their status as a team. "But that's too soon! We're not ready for that!"

"Says you…" the Uzumaki grumbled, earning a sharp glare from the lone female. Little did either know that Sasuke had long perfected the art of muttering in agreement without actually making a sound.

"That's the other thing," Kakashi continued, "It's been decided that in order for Sasuke to participate, he is to be reassigned to another team." He let that sink in as his charges reacted appropriately. Sakura gaped like a fish, Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, and Naruto shrugged like it was an everyday occurrence.

The Uchiha broke the silence. "Which team?"

"One that's recently lost a member…" the Hatake eyed the Uzumaki for a moment, "Team Gai."

"What happened to the third member?" Sasuke took this news in without so much as batting an eye.

"He was Neji Hyuuga…" Before he could elaborate, he was interrupted by a sudden barking laughter emanating from Naruto.

"Ah," the blonde looked like he couldn't smile any wider, "Good times…"

Awkward silences ensued. "Anyway…" Kakashi got back on track, knowing that muttering the name of the massacred Hyuuga was all the explanation needed. "The council has issued an immediate transfer, so Sasuke," he addressed the indifferent boy, "Follow me to your new team." As he walked off with the boy in tow, he couldn't help but feel that the future was bleak. "_This is wrong. This is all wrong…_"

When the Sharingan users departed and left behind an awestruck Sakura and apathetic Naruto, the blonde broke the verbal famine by unhooking his small gourd and shaking it next to his ear. The swishing of fluids told him that his container was low and, without any warning, he turned to walk away and announced, "My blood's low. I'm gonna go depopulate the forest and fill it up again."

------

Kurenai couldn't stop pacing the field. She had arrived at the specified training field an hour earlier than necessary, and she couldn't stop worrying about the blonde enigma known as the Uzumaki. It bothered her to no end that the preteen murderer was being sheltered by one of her closest friends as well as protected by her impressionable student. "_He's going to try something, I just know it!_" The sound of footsteps broke her from her doom and gloom and she raised her illustrious eyes to find an unexpected visitor. "Miss Haruno…"

"Kurenai Yuhi," the woman addressed the jonin with a voice colder than ice. "Your team has not yet arrived, I presume?" Receiving a nod in return, she continued. "I have news concerning your charge, Hinata Hyuuga."

The mere mention of the introverted girl's name perked Kurenai's interest. "What about her?"

The Haruno informed the illusion mistress of the council's decision to wed Hinata and Sasuke when they came of age. Subsequent questioning from the Yuhi prompted the councilwoman to further reveal their plans regarding the Uchiha's involvement in the Chunin exams. All this was big news to Kurenai, if her bulging eyes were any indication.

"They're planning to arrange a marriage between Hinata and Sasuke?"

"Correct."

The illusion user opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. Ushering into a brief silence, she considered the situation. "_If Hinata becomes involved with Sasuke, that's a perfect reason for eliminating Uzumaki- to ensure her safety. Plus, Hinata will be better off if she's with Sasuke rather than hanging around Uzumaki. This might be a blessing in disguise…_" With that in mind, Kurenai locked eyes with the Haruno and advertised her resolve into the councilwoman's eyes.

"What do you need me to do?"

------

Sarutobi sat in his office with his pipe in hand. He was taking a break at the moment and enjoying the tobacco running through his system rather than stressing over the current situation involving arranged marriages and overturned team assignments. It aggravated him that the council had voted almost unanimously in favor of Sasuke's transfer, but this time the council had something over him. If he acted on his veto to their decision, they would assure that he would regret it in terms of commerce and civilian policy. They had done it once before in outrage over Orochimaru's experiments by taking out their vengeance on him via suppliers of poor qualities of steel for weaponry and more expensive ornate cloth for uniforms. Thankfully, that had blown over after only a few months, but if he intervened with their foolishness over the forced unions they would surely make the remainder of his days a living hell by placing embargos of all kinds on the village's shinobi.

Not that Konoha's ninjas would stand for it, but that would create division within the village. And divided, they would fall against their numerous enemies without fail.

A knock at the door broke the Hokage from his negative revelry and he bid the visitor entrance. Anko complied by waltzing in with as much respect as she could muster and stood at attention before her ruler. "You summoned me, lord Hokage?"

"Thank you for hurrying over, Anko," the elder ninja returned as he leaned forward in his chair and took a final puff of his pipe. "I have some disturbing news related to Naruto Uzumaki."

She blinked at the boy's name but tried to keep her face devoid of emotion. She failed; the Hokage picked up on the subtle motion in an instant. "What about him, sir?"

"Drop the formalities, Anko," he smiled in his grandfatherly way, "I already know that he's living in your apartment."

"Oh…" She relaxed. "_Funny how this stuff gets around so fast._"

Sarutobi adopted his business face again. "I called you here to inform you of one of the council's decisions…" He noted her sudden frown and attempt to argue but cut her off before she could begin. "Listen to what I have to say before you ask anything." He decided to leave out the arranged unions, seeing as how Anko could have developed enough of a bond with the Hyuuga girl that straight-up killing Sasuke wouldn't be out of the question.

The Mitarashi's eyes furrowed as the old man relayed the council's decision that showed favoritism towards the Uchiha by placing him in the upcoming examinations. The snake charmer couldn't believe her ears when her leader finished. "You mean to tell me that they're trying to power up the Uchiha by transferring him to another team?"

"Precisely."

"That's bullshit! They can't do that! He's already got a team!"

He sighed at his next words. "Unfortunately, they can. The situation's… complicated, Anko. There's only so much I can do about their decision without fracturing Konoha."

"But they're just a council- you're the Hokage!"

His aged eyes bored into her and silenced her arguments with their inherent wisdom. "I'll admit that I have allowed the council to become too powerful over the years. I cannot directly confront them regarding this issue without backlash, but I firmly believe that there are other ways."

Anko corralled her outrage. "And that has something to do with me?"

"You always were bright," he chuckled. "As you know, you are currently being considered for the proctor position of the survival portion of the Chunin exams. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I do have final say over the outcome. Will you help me with this issue?"

She swallowed. Normally she wouldn't even consider accepting the obvious bribe, but favoritism of any kind set her off. She wouldn't take a back seat to this, not when Naruto was being denied the opportunity of a promotion under the guise of empowering the Uchiha. "Of course. What do you need me to do?"

He smiled and leaned back. "I'm glad you agree. I'll need you to… put Sasuke through a few more roadblocks than what he'd normally face."

"Impede his progress?"

"Your words, not mine…" His eyes said it all, though.

Anko smirked in understanding. "How long do you plan on keeping the Uchiha kid out of the running?"

"For as long as the council favors him." In truth, he was aiming for when they renounced the arranged marriages, but that might have taken forever as well.

"I understand, lord Hokage."

"Excellent. Dismissed."

As Anko made her way to the door, she halted all of a sudden and turned in place. "Oh, may I make a request?"

He cocked an eyebrow in return. "What is it?"

She raised a finger and gave her trademark sly smile. "Can I have a partner in this little side mission?"

Sarutobi thumbed his chin in thought. "It depends on who you have in mind. Most of the village's shinobi will be on duty during the exams…"

"Oh, but this one won't." Her smirk widened. "In fact, the council just disbanded his team…"

------

On one of the mountains far from the village of Konoha, a trio of figures stood in the wind gazing at the distant town in the horizon. "So, so," one of the two smaller individuals stated with a disturbing childlike excitement, "That is Naruto Uzumaki's territory?"

"Yep," the tallest of the three replied, his cabled scythes tightly bound around his body until they were needed.

"So, so," a feminine voice continued with the same jarring jubilance as its male counterpart, "We're going there to kill Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Not yet. I want to see if he has truly committed heresy first…"

The smaller fanatics joined hands and squealed in unison. "Heresy!"

Deadman glared at his two companions in annoyance. Why were these the only fellow followers he could find? "Yeah. I think he's getting attached to a girl named Hinata Hyuuga…"

"Hyuuga!"

Once again, a look of irritation followed. "Think you can take her out while I deal with him?"

"Absolutely!" the boy yelled.

"Completely!" the girl shouted.

"'Cause we're the Telsel twins!"

* * *

Arranged marriages?! Chunin exams?! Deadman and the mysterious Telsel twins?! What else could go wrong?! Tune in next time for the exciting next installment of 'Heresy'! (And tell your friends.)

So, how's all this for plot twists? Lovely, no?

Lemme know what you guys think in your reviews! I'd much rather have reviews with some insight beyond 'great', 'awesome', and 'moar'. You know what I mean? Your critiques will lead to actual developments!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hundred gesture drawings to do before adding construction and anatomy to them...


	7. Forgiveness? For What?

Yo! Once again, sorry for taking so damn long for so little, but I tell ya... there's nothin' like having a break where you're not required to do _anything_...

And I do mean **anything**...

So, enjoy!

* * *

As the days passed, tension rose within the village. Most of the residing shinobi were busy with missions as well as their impending involvement with the upcoming Chunin exams. Diplomats from the participating villages came and went to confirm attendance numbers and organize safety regulations and disclosures. Even a few local lords graced Konoha with their presence to catch a glimpse of the participants- 'inside information', they called it.

But all of this meant little to Naruto Uzumaki. He sat under one of the many trees of the forests of his home village, basking in the deep shadows. The blonde disliked the bright sunshine, preferring to stay cool and not blinded within the hidden sanctuary of foliage. To pass the time, he read aloud the scriptures of Jashin to unravel the simple answers in life.

He came across a historical passage of the script. "And Samael, reaper of men's souls, waged a great battle with Jashin, drinker of men's blood. The heavens wept tears of fire and wailed in grief as they met in the fields. The lands of mortal men trembled and cracked and bled, and the great seas descended from the sky to cool the land. The souls of those at rest in the underworld stirred as the battle ravaged all who were caught up in it.

"When the dawn of the hundredth day came to pass, Samael was slain and Jashin reigned over the land. The blood of mortals was offered to appease him, and in his benevolence, he accepted it with their lives. For one hundred days, Jashin ruled the lands with blood and iron, offering his divine gifts to all mortals seeking him.

"On the dawn of the hundred and first day of Jashin's reign, he was struck down by the might of all the heavens and the earth. The gods who wept for mankind raised their hands as one against Jashin, for they were frail without their brethren. The gods banished Jashin to the underworld beneath the universe and hid his name from men, the key to his prison being the blood of all mortals, for in their vengeance they decreed that should Jashin reign once again, his empire shall be for naught."

Naruto stopped when he finished that portion of the script and looked up; he heard something snap. His brilliant eyes found an unexpected visitor and his mood soured. "Anko…"

She regarded him with a forced smile; she had overheard the blonde's scriptures. "Hey Naruto, what'cha readin'?"

"The words of lord Jashin." He wasn't happy to see her and his voice betrayed his animosity.

"I see." She tried to show interest in the brutal religion- perhaps if she got the Uzumaki to open up he would be more receptive to the idea of not committing indiscriminate murder. "What was that you just read?"

He eyed her, wondering about her curiosity. "It's the creation story."

"Creation?"

"Yeah."

An awkward silence settled between the duo and the snake mistress broke the ice with a nervous laugh. "You haven't been back since you left. Are you mad about something?" He had departed from her apartment after his nap several days ago and hadn't returned.

A glare preceded his answer. "You kept me from killing Kurenai."

The Mitarashi's eyes fell. "You're still mad about that?"

"Yeah." His curt answers were proof enough of his mood.

Anko said nothing for a moment then sat on the grass before the blonde, almost bringing her to eye level with him. "Listen, I'm sorry about that, but you can't just go around killing everyone you don't like…"

His murderous stare returned. "She tried to _kill_ me."

"But she can't."

"She wanted to. That's all that matters."

She sighed in defeat and hung her head- the boy's logic was understandable. After all, who wouldn't want revenge on someone who acted on the impulse to kill another? She was every bit as guilty as him when it came to her former mentor, and that made her hesitant to lecture him. "Naruto," she paused, unsure how to convey her thoughts, "Sometimes you've got to take the high road in order to get anywhere." A quick glance at the killer confirmed that his attention was captured. "If you show mercy to those who wrong you, then they might change their opinion of you and stop."

"What a load of shit," he sneered, "They all think I'm a monster regardless of what they know about the fox. They'll never change their minds."

"But they could."

His glare penetrated her soul. "How many times have we had this conversation? Why do you keep trying to convince me that I should let people go when they try to kill me?"

Anko sighed; she barely saw any progress, and this little chat didn't look like it was going anywhere. "All I'm saying is that if you forgive people, you might make a few friends."

"Didn't I already say that I don't want friends?"

"Then what are Hinata and I?"

That stopped the blonde dead in his verbal tracks. He paused for a moment, gathered his thoughts with obvious disdain, and formulated a response. "Just… people."

A laughing smirk found its way to the snake charmer's lips. "People…?"

"Yes," he held his ground, "People."

She gave it up- when he got stubborn, that was the end of the argument. Instead, she smiled and leaned back on the grassy knoll. "Well, do you think you can at least forgive me for holding you back?"

He maintained his angry gaze at her then blinked it away. "Why should I?"

"Because it'd make me feel better."

The blonde killer frowned; "_Make her feel better?_" This was a foreign concept to him, doing something nice for someone who upset him. He looked at Anko, found her unwavering smile, and thought hard over what he should do. He recalled every passage he knew from Jashin's words, but for the life of him he couldn't think of any plausible reason why he shouldn't forgive her outside of his own spite. "_Could it be that forgiveness isn't heresy?_"

Meanwhile, said Mitarashi was lost in her own musings. "_He's really thinking this over. Did I get through to him?_" A small part of her hoped she did- it was necessary for him to learn how to forgive people if he ever wanted something akin to a normal life. She perked up when the boy mumbled something to the side. "What was that?"

He repeated the unintelligible phrase.

"Was that even a sentence?" she played.

His face swung to hers. "I forgive you! How many times do I have to say it?!"

Her eyes arched at the aggressive benevolence and melted into an uncharacteristic giggle- she had gotten through to him, even if only a little. "Thanks, Naruto." With that, she stood to her feet and stretched to work out the kinks. "So… are we gonna see you back at my place tonight?" The Uzumaki grunted, so she took it as a 'yes'. "Then I'll see you later!"

As the snake charmer walked off with a smile, she turned to ensure that she was out of earshot of the immortal. "So," she stated to the air, "You catch all that?"

Kurenai shimmered from the leafy environment to join her old friend. "I did. What of it?"

"He's capable of forgiveness."

"Only to the people he's trying to fool- he didn't give me a second thought."

"Oh, come on!" Anko stamped the ground, "You tried to kill him! How can you judge him if he won't forgive you for trying to kill him only three days ago? No one would."

A moment of silence passed between the two women and the Yuhi continued. "I also heard him reading from that book of his. Anyone who believes that stuff couldn't be sane."

"Kurenai!" the Mitarashi barked, "Listen to what you're saying! Do you really think that someone who's suffered as much as he has should have an open mind?!"

"Listen to yourself, Anko!" Kurenai finally lost it. "It doesn't matter how much he's suffered- that's not important! What is important is that he kills people and he enjoys it!"

The sweets lover got in her old friend's face. "Where's your proof?!" she deferred to the technicalities of Konoha's justice system, "He's never been convicted of murder!"

"What about the Hyuugas?! They found Neji Hyuuga's body right outside his apartment with a blood trail leading right to it!"

"He attacked Naruto first- the ANBU figured that out!"

"Then what about the rest of Hinata's family?! Almost every one of them was mutilated, and every time someone brings it up, that kid laughs about it!"

"He was absolved of that!"

"People saw him running there! Then they saw him run to the hospital while covered in blood! How can you defend that?!"

"I was with him at the hospital- everyone was dead when we got there!"

"Then why do the murders always die down when he leaves Konoha?!"

Anko sputtered; she didn't have an answer for that. She had no idea why this coincidence existed- that Deadman tended to leave the village whenever Naruto wasn't around- and, as such, she couldn't refute it. "Kurenai," she calmed herself, "I _know_ him- I've spent time with him. He needs a friend…"

"He needs to be imprisoned for his crimes." The illusion mistress wouldn't waver on this one- she was certain that Naruto Uzumaki was using her old friend and shy pupil to accentuate his killing spree. After all, almost everyone who confronted the blonde died in bizarre ways. "Just because there's not enough evidence to convict him doesn't mean that he's innocent."

Anko sighed and regarded her comrade with sad eyes. "Kurenai, you gave me a chance. You stood up for me when the village said I was another Orochimaru. Why won't you give Naruto the same chance?"

The Yuhi thought about her answer for a moment. "Anko, we went to the Academy together. You were a prankster, but you were never cruel. Not even Orochimaru could change that." She took a light breath and continued. "But Naruto's been surrounded by death before he even entered the Academy; everyone whose ever gotten near him has died. He might be innocent in the eyes of the Hokage, but everyone can see what he really is." She might not have had physical evidence of the blonde's guilt, but this was something that she felt in her core. "I don't know why he is this way… but I can't deny that, fox or no, he's become a monster."

The Mitarashi grit her teeth; how could she teach an immortal murderer the value of forgiveness but not her oldest friend? She grimaced and gazed at the illusion user's eyes with moroseness. "Kurenai… if you can't trust me about Naruto, then… I don't think our friendship means much anymore."

Kurenai pursed her lips and shook her head. "I'm sorry to hear that Anko," she said as she turned to leave.

A few seconds passed and the snake charmer was sure she could stem any tears. Her lips parted to speak in little more than a whisper. "Not as sorry as I am."

-----

As the sun sank into the sky and the villagers dwindled in number in preparation for nightfall, Naruto trudged through the streets on his way to Anko's apartment. He had been bothered all day by the Mitarashi's proposition of forgiveness- he couldn't get it out of his mind. Furthermore, even after skimming the rest of his holy book, he still could not find a definitive answer as to whether or not the act of forgiving others was heresy. This was especially confusing to him; Jashin's scriptures decreed all who followed him to abandon love and kill without discrimination, so it was a simple assumption that a benevolent thing like forgiveness would fall into the category of sin. "_But it never even mentions it…_"

He passed Ichiraku's ramen stand and eyed it before deciding to grab a bowl or eight before arriving at Anko's home. The blonde strode over to the nearest vacant stool, plopped down in one motion, and eyed the two owners with his trademark sick smile. "Evening, guys…"

Teuchi spared a glare at the boy. "What's your order?"

"I'll have some miso," he turned to a newly fidgeting Ayame with his grin in tow, "Please…"

The old man grunted in order to spare his daughter the awkwardness of a response. He didn't like the way Naruto looked at her, but he couldn't very well do anything about it since the boy was a paying customer who hadn't done anything to warrant his professional ire as of yet. He silently dismissed his daughter to the back room, prepared the order, and placed the steaming bowl before the blonde. "Order's up."

The immortal chuckled as he undid his chopsticks and dug in with the ferocity of a starved animal. After a few minutes he was finished and holding his bowl up for seconds, and as he began on his next helping, a familiar presence sat next to him.

"I'll have whatever he's having," a woman's voice rang out, catching Naruto's attention.

He swallowed his current mouthful and addressed the attractive female. "Asha… I see you've pried yourself off of Haku. He alive?"

"Damn right he is," she smirked, "No way I'm gonna waste one that cute. You really hooked a good one." Her order was placed before her and she proceeded to feast with as much enthusiasm as the blonde.

"Can I have my apartment back now?"

"I never kicked you out," she eyed him while slurping noodles; "You're welcome to come back anytime you want."

"I don't want to watch you screw Haku!"

Asha giggled at the outburst. "Sounds like a personal problem. I'd watch you screw him…"

The blonde paused for a moment before swallowing. Somehow, ramen lost its flavor. "Why can't you find a place of your own? Aren't there some brothels left in Konoha?"

"Nope." Her answer was curt. "They're all shut down now. And I don't want to kill Haku just to move to another place."

The Uzumaki's eyes narrowed- he never knew the woman was so dependent on sex that she could single handedly obliterate a bustling city's red light district. He sighed in defeat and kept eating. "_Looks like my apartment's dead to me…_"

"Damn," Asha bemoaned between mouthfuls, "This stuff tastes like shit."

"Then don't eat it."

"Can't help it," she replied between shovelfuls, "I haven't eaten a full meal in three days. I'm starving."

Naruto nodded. "You've got to be the only person I know who's forgotten to eat because she's screwing her sacrifices."

"Hey!" she slapped his shoulder and continued eating, "I don't tell you how to live, do I?" After another mouthful, her bowl was in the air and being replaced by another. "Besides, your lack of interest in sex is just as strange to me. You don't even want a piece of this when I offer it!" Asha smiled and flipped open the folds of her three robes to display some cleavage in order to accentuate her point.

The blonde averted his eyes; his 'comrade's' words weren't entirely accurate- he simply didn't like the turquoise-haired woman's version of sex. "_Anyone who impales people while they get off isn't my idea of… that._" All that aside, he wasn't even thirteen years old- puberty hadn't settled in with full force yet. He ignored Asha for a while longer as he ate, but something tugged at his mind until he could tolerate the silence no further. "Hey, Asha."

"Hm?" she eyed him while slurping in another salvo of hot noodles.

"I… uh, got a question."

She cocked an eyebrow- Naruto _never_ wanted to talk to her about anything. "What's up?"

"You've read the scriptures of lord Jashin, right?"

"Yep."

"All of it?"

"Thousands of times."

The blonde immortal nodded as he prepped himself for his unusual inquiry. "Has there ever been anything about… forgiveness?" He attempted to downplay his statement by continuing his meal, but the sudden silence and Asha's wide stare obliterated any hope of that.

"Forgiveness?" she blinked, momentarily forgetting about the food before her. "That's a sin."

"Is it?" The Uzumaki swiveled in his seat to face the woman properly. "What do the scriptures say? I can't find anything about it."

"I… they…" She propped her chin on her arm in agitated thought. Seconds later, she returned her gaze with a confused blankness. "You know, I don't think they say anything at all. I always just figured it was heresy."

"I thought so too, but if it's not in the scriptures…" He left that hanging as his stomach demanded more sustenance. His hand moved for the chopsticks and began feeding his mouth one bite at a time, but his previous ferocity was gone. The matter at hand was more important.

Asha took the cue and imitated the blonde in her own way. "I… don't… really know. Hasn't it always been tradition?"

"Yeah, but… if lord Jashin didn't decree it himself, is it justified?"

She frowned and shook her head. "It couldn't be. I mean, we're not supposed to be attached to anything- why should we forgive anyone if we can't do that?"

"But are those two things really the same? Lord Jashin says we shouldn't love anyone, but he never said anything about forgiving people. Could it be…" he paused to review his next words, "That we think forgiveness is a sin when it never was?"

This statement struck the female killer in a profound way. She turned back to her cooling food with the sluggishness to rival a snail and raised the noodles to her lips even slower. After a minute of awestruck silence, she shook her head back into reality. "You know," she gave the boy a small uncharacteristic smile; "This reminds me of when I first converted. Back then, I used to wonder about stuff like this- the whole 'meaning of life' thing. I tried to understand what Lord Jashin wanted of us." She returned to her noodles and her eyes focused on the distant past. "But I gave up after a while. I got tired of trying to justify my beliefs and just did what I wanted." There was an odd bit of remorse resounding in her voice. "That's worked so far…"

Naruto heard Asha's point and offered no rebuttal- it was a heavy issue to ponder while eating. But he did make a mental note to interrogate the woman further regarding the tone of her reply; he'd never known her to have a single drop of anxiety or depression in her character. He polished off his current bowl and paid his bill to leave behind the strangely quiet female immortal. His feet unconsciously carried him to Anko's apartment as his brain struggled to wrap around the world of problems opened up by the concepts of forgiveness and regret.

"_If forgiveness isn't a heresy,_" he wondered, "_What else could there be?_" Even Asha's change in attitude made him wonder since she wasn't known to doubt herself. "_She decided to do her own thing without trying to justify it, but why does she sound like she regrets it?_" For an instant, his mind flashed by the idea that immortality was more a curse than a gift, but he had little time to ponder over it.

"Hey, loser!" A voice shook the blonde from his deep thoughts.

The Uzumaki turned to the vocal insult with weary eyes- he was tired, his belly was full, and his mind was coming off a serious subject. But when he found the person who called him, his face contorted into his usual malevolence. "Sasuke…"

Said Uchiha stood tall as he always did, this time with two newcomers trailing behind him. He smirked at the blonde with an unusual display of arrogance and spoke with it as well. "So how's your training going? Are you getting along with Sakura and Kakashi?"

"Fuck off," he sneered, "I don't feel like dealing with you right now." Naruto made good on his comment and started to walk away, but one of the stranger's voices cut off his halfhearted departure.

"Are you the one who's rumored to have killed Neji Hyuuga?"

The blonde swung his head around to repeat himself when his words choked in his mouth; he hadn't paid any attention to the duo behind Sasuke, and the boy speaking to him could be summed up by the words 'eyebrows', 'green', and 'atrocity'. "What's it to you, megabrows?"

The boy with the bowl cut and hideously green leotard straightened and introduced himself with enthusiastic formality. "I am Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuuga was my eternal rival! I only wish to know if you are the one who bested him!"

Naruto yawned in response. "So what if I am?" He frowned when the loud boy's eyes seemed to burn… literally. But the girl beside Lee didn't look so elated.

Tenten was a torn girl. Up until now, her team was the closest thing to excellence that the Academy could offer, Neji being the powerhouse of her squad with his Gentle Fist techniques and all-seeing eyes. There was even a time where she thought that maybe, if the white-eyed boy loosened up a little, there could have been something between them…

Then Neji was killed and replaced by the last Uchiha. Any chance of romance was gone, and now Tenten had to rework her entire strategy to revolve around Sasuke and his underdeveloped power. She knew that Neji intruded on Naruto, assuming the ANBU's report was accurate, but she blanched at the details of the Hyuuga's death. It was the most violent thing she'd ever heard of even by ninja standards, and that made her wonder about the person who killed him. Whoever was capable of disemboweling a human before ripping their heart out by hand couldn't have been less than disturbed.

And now that Neji's killer stood before her, she knew that her assumption was correct. Naruto Uzumaki reeked of malevolence, and he didn't even look like he was trying.

"What're you staring at, panda girl?" The immortal was annoyed by Tenten's stare.

"Are…" she began, anxiety mounting at the blonde's rudeness, "Are you the one who killed Neji?"

"Why is this such a big secret?!" he called to the sky, "Yes, I killed Neji Hyuuga! There! Happy now?!"

Tenten frowned at the grandiose admittance alongside the dwindling passersby, but it was Sasuke who spoke in her place. "So loser…"

"Naruto," the killer corrected him.

"What?"

"It's Naruto to you."

The Uchiha expelled something of a chuckle in reply. "Once a loser, always a loser."

Naruto's patience was on its last leg. "You want to lose your head? How's that sound?"

This time, Sasuke laughed out loud. "Is that a threat? From _you_?"

Lee sensed the primal wave of anger dripping from the blonde and leaned in to his newest teammate's ear. "Sasuke, please remember that Naruto killed Neji Hyuuga, one of the most talented genin in the village."

The Uchiha took offence to this and spat back, "He wasn't an Uchiha."

Tenten leaned in as well to further Lee's advice. "Don't get cocky. Neji was at the top of his game when Naruto killed him, and you haven't even awakened your Sharingan…"

Sasuke's sudden glare silenced the girl. "I'm an Uchiha," he stated in a flat tone, "We're the best of the best. I don't need to go full out to beat this loser."

Meanwhile, Jashin's follower shook with building rage. "_Goddamn Sasuke!_" he raged inwardly, "_He picks a fight with me and thinks he'll come out on top?!_" His brilliant eyes glanced at the night sky as he fumed. "_I'll carve out his eyes and ram them down his throat!_"

But as his arm moved for his modified javelin, he remembered Anko's words. For a moment, the concept of forgiveness flashed in his mind and the rest of her speeches involving 'taking the high road' followed. "_Anko said if I don't kill everyone that pisses me off, then they might become… friends. Is that really true? Would that really happen?_" These notions were enough to stay his hand, if only to test their validity.

But Sasuke destroyed all that. "This guy only talks tough. He has no blood limit, no family, and no talent. He's worthless."

Those words reminded the Uzumaki of the years of abuse he'd suffered as a child before finding Jashin. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Fuck forgiveness!" he yelled, "I'm gonna kill you!" He yanked his weapon from its cloth handle and swung the bladed end at the Uchiha's head like a sword.

The Uchiha ducked and realized that he felt the blade cut through his hair. "_He's faster than I thought._" But he took refuge in the belief that he was faster. He retreated from the blonde's repeated swings, taking note of the deep crevasses the Uzumaki left in the stone as well as the fact that every blow crept closer to his skull. His hands ran through the appropriate seals and he belched a massive fireball at Naruto, consuming the killer in flames and celebrating with a smirk. "_He'll survive this- it's not enough to kill anyone. And he attacked first, so I'll say it was self defense and walk away…_"

But he was taken aback when he saw the silhouette vanish from the conflagration in a puff of smoke. It took Tenten calling his name for him to look up and find the blonde opponent perched against the nearest wall. He noticed the lethal sneer on the boy's face, but that was overshadowed by the translucent claw extending from the blonde's free arm that draped over the roof to hold him in place. "What the hell is that…?"

Naruto shrieked something unintelligible and somehow lunged from the wall for the Uchiha. Sasuke knew he couldn't avoid it and raised his arms in the hopes of deflecting a lethal blow. His eyes widened as the gap between the two lessened and his ears rang with the bloodcurdling gurgle emanating from the blonde's throat. Feet became inches, and the Uzumaki's extended blade looked as big as Konoha from Sasuke's perspective.

All of a sudden, the Uchiha was yanked back and the immortal crashed into the ground. Sasuke was alarmed by the intervention, but a quick glance back eased his worries; it was a jonin- Kurenai, if he wasn't mistaken. He then focused on the real threat and was puzzled to find Naruto rise to his feet and regard his surroundings with a perpetual thousand yard stare.

"Sasuke," the Yuhi spoke, "Please get out of here with your teammates."

He swung around to verbally confront the kunoichi. "I can take him…"

"No you can't," she stated in a teacher's tone, "The only reason he's confused right now is because he's under an illusion that makes him blind and deaf."

"Where are you?!" Naruto's angry shouts and wild outbursts confirmed the woman's statement. "Fight me like a man!"

"All of you," the illusion mistress addressed the whole of Gai's team, "Head on home. I'll take care of him from here." A minute passed before the three genin hesitantly complied and headed their separate ways.

Tenten stopped by Kurenai before departing the scene, though; something didn't add up to her. "Do you know something about him that we don't?"

She nodded. "He's a monster. That's all you need to know."

The weapon user didn't appear to buy the explanation, but she left nonetheless. She and Lee didn't participate in this battle partly because Sasuke provoked the blonde into it, but it was mainly due to the fact that, despite his novice movements, Naruto Uzumaki exuded a kind of evil confidence that only made his attacks that much deadlier.

"_But that alone doesn't make him a monster, does it?_"

As everyone cleared the scene, Kurenai regarded the flailing Uzumaki with a thoughtful smugness. "I can't kill you, that's for sure," she spoke to the deaf blonde, "But I can't have you interfering with Hinata's fiancée, so I'm going to leave you like this." Like the remaining handful of pedestrians abandoning the street, Kurenai turned to leave, ignoring the murderer's constant shouting and swinging. "I wish I could make you stay this way forever, but rest assured that I'll get to it soon enough…"

-----

Ino Yamanaka was an inherently curious girl. Whenever something caught her eye, she pursued said object until she understood everything that could be known about it. This was how she mastered the more basic of her family's techniques- the mind body switch- with little more than determination.

Even people were not beyond her curiosity, as could be seen with her infatuation with Sasuke Uchiha. The boy was so mysterious with his ambiguous mannerisms and neutral attitude that he was a natural target for the blonde girl's interest. The Uchiha shut himself off from the world as best he could, and his self-containment alone was enough to make any girl curiously knowledgeable about him despite his attempts, or lack thereof.

At one point in time, Naruto himself was not exempt from this underlying fascination in all things mysterious. Years ago, when the Uzumaki began exhibiting personality traits not so different from Sasuke's, Ino was among the throng of premature females who flocked to the boy. But when the blonde enigma furthered his development into something… disturbing… she decided that he was too dangerous to hang around. After that, the Yamanaka cut all ties with the boy alongside her fellow fan girls.

But now that she had caught a glimpse of his self image- that of an irredeemable monster- her interest was piqued again. "_I always thought he was a little off, but how did he come to think that he's a monster?_" She remembered how he tried to kill her for talking too much, but surely that kind of thinking was born of rash impulsiveness. So how did he become impulsive to that degree in the first place? There had to be an answer…

Which was why she stood at the door of her oldest friend and rival. After a few minutes, her impatient knocking prompted someone to answer it. "Sakura!" Ino exclaimed the formality, "I heard about your team! Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the pink-haired female replied, "I'm fine. Totally fine. I'm doing great. Absolutely."

The Yamanaka blanched. "_My god, I've never seen her in such denial. And what the hell is she wearing?_"

The Haruno was donned in what looked like a field medic's gown, but she was far too young and inexperienced to be one. "You never come to visit," the obviously distraught girl stated, "What brings you by?"

"I, uh, came to ask you about Naruto…"

Sakura's mood soured upon that name; her dim smile dissolved and her eyes narrowed. Something about the blonde in question stirred her ire, and she was about to reveal it to the mind jumper. "My old teammate? What about him?"

"Well, uh," she could hear the agitation in her old friend's voice, "I ran into him a few days ago, and I was wondering if you could tell me about him?"

She crossed her arms. "What's there to know about him? He likes ramen and hates people. That sums him up perfectly." Sakura didn't have a high opinion of the blonde, mostly because he showed general disregard for her life ever since team seven was formed.

Ino frowned upon the realization that her old rival probably wasn't an unbiased source of information about the blonde in question. "_What if she's even reinforced the belief that he's a monster?_" She struck that thought from her mind and continued forward. "Oh, come on, that can't be all. You were on the same team; he must have hobbies or something!"

"He was barely there half the time. Sasuke and I trained without him for several weeks!"

"What?" This was news to her. "Seriously? Where was he?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

The Yamanaka was growing irritated at the pink-haired girl's curtness. "Okay… what about-?"

"Ino," Sakura interrupted the blonde preteen, "Did you come here just to ask about Naruto?"

"Um… well…"

"Do you think I care about Naruto when Sasuke's been taken from me?! Why are you asking me about some violent blood-crazed idiot when my team's been disbanded?!" Angry tears formed in the corners of the girl's eyes. "Did you seriously think this was okay?!"

Before Ino could register that her questioning was rather rude and respond accordingly, Sakura slammed the door in her face. The mind jumper stood dumbfounded for a moment before turning to walk away in a daze. "_Crap, she's right… that was such a bitch thing to do…_" But after several minutes of mindless wandering, she found her thoughts turning to the scant details given by her frustrated friend, and she couldn't help but feel bad that the Uzumaki was all she could think about when her oldest friend was in a rut. "_Naruto disappeared for several weeks? I never heard about that. And what was all that about being 'blood-crazed'…?_"

As the Yamanaka departed from the block, Sakura pushed herself from the shut door and wiped the salty moisture from her face and sniffled. She didn't realize how upset she'd been about Sasuke's transfer until now- she hadn't truly gotten it off her chest. For a moment she considered going after her old friend and making amends for her outburst, but her mother's voice stayed her decision.

"Sakura," the eldest Haruno stated as she emerged from the back room, "Who was that?"

"Ino," she choked, still reeling from the torrent of emotions surging through her.

The matriarch pursed her lips on her otherwise cold face- she didn't want to see her daughter in pain, but the violent death- no, murder- of her husband had honestly killed much of her sympathy. "Why don't you take a bath and go to sleep? You'll feel better in the morning."

Sakura gave the barest of nods and began the cumbersome trudge up the stairs, every step taken feeling heavier than the last.

"And be sure to use the sterilizing agent!" the elder Haruno called after her, "We don't want any of the compounds sticking to the tub!" After another minute, her depressed daughter disappeared and she moved to clean up her 'special' workplace when a knock at the door attracted her attention. It turned out to be a welcome face this time. "Kurenai, what are you doing here so late?"

"Good evening, Miss Haruno," the Yuhi bowed an inch and entered so as to not be heard by prying ears. She waited for the door to shut before continuing in a subdued tone. "I found out something about Naruto Uzumaki."

The woman frowned- that name was the bane of her existence. "What about him?"

"He can't counteract genjutsu. He's completely vulnerable to it."

"I see. How did you come across this?"

"I cast an illusion on his mind that cut off his sight and hearing and left him shouting like a fool in the middle of the street."

If her joviality wasn't dead, the Haruno would have laughed at the mental image. "That's good to know. Excellent work." She removed her rubber gloves and tossed them in a tin bucket for impending sterilization. "Sakura's really picking up all the formulas I showed her. It's going a little slower than I'd hoped, but I'm sure once she gets over Sasuke Uchiha she'll dive right into it. Speaking of which, have you done anything about him and Hinata Hyuuga yet?"

Kurenai nodded and shot her equivalent of a smirk. "I've worked out a deal with Gai so our teams will work together several days a week starting tomorrow. I'm hoping that I can get those two to interact favorably before the Chunin exams."

"Sounds like a gamble, but it could work. Contingency plans?"

"I have a few ideas that I'm working on, but nothing concrete. Don't worry though," her humble smile melted into a grin that would have made Naruto proud, "It'll get done…"

----

As the moon peaked in the sky, the door to Anko's apartment swung open with a loud bang. Heavy footsteps trudged through the front hallway into the living room and ended with a certain blonde planting himself on the couch.

Naruto was pissed as could be. He had no idea how to dispel genjutsu, so he had to wait out the entirety of the technique until he could find his way around again. When he could finally see and hear the world, Sasuke was nowhere to be found. "_I don't care about all this 'forgiveness' crap- I'm gonna kill Sasuke. No questions asked._" He attempted to smother his anger by burying his head in the cushion of the couch to sleep it off, but a soft patter of feet and the ensuing creak of floorboards kept him from doing so. He glanced into the depths of the apartment to find a small girl with pale eyes staring back. "Who the hell are you?" he asked with a gruff voice born of weariness.

"I should be asking you that," she was indignant, "Why are you in Miss Anko's house?"

"Kid, depending on your next answer, I might not kill you. Now, who are you?"

The girl squinted against the moonlight and her eyes crackled with a fledging Byakugan. Once she got a good look at the dark figure on the couch, she flinched in fright and her bloodline receded. "I-it's you!"

"Yeah, it's me." He moved his weary legs and rose from the comfortable furniture, his appearance that of a phantom with the moon to his back.

Hanabi's subconscious forced her to back up in fear. She didn't know if the Uzumaki was a murderous fiend like Deadman, but the looming image of the man who almost killed her reigned supreme in her mind. Most notable was the trademark darkness and crimson of the clothes and belts that donned all Jashin's loyal, and the terror imprinted on the young girl's mind rendered her in a panic now that she saw the impenetrable shadow of the immortal's robes rising above her eye level. Words stuck in her throat and she could do no more than stammer as her back stumbled against the wall.

The blonde approached the hyperventilating girl with a growing smile, squinting in thoughtfulness when he got a good look at her eyes. "You're a Hyuuga," he said with a manic smile as he cleared her hair out of the way. "_Do all Hyuuga girls look like this when they're scared? Damn it, now I wish I didn't let Asha kill them all…_"

The youngest Hyuuga's lungs expelled air at an unhealthy rate and she felt lightheaded. "Y-you're U-Uzumaki…" was all she could manage.

This only made the killer's smile widen. He hadn't seen such pure terror since Hinata… "_But the knockoff's never as good as the original._" He wasn't sure what it was; this little girl's fear, while intoxicating, wasn't as fascinating as the blue-haired heiress's. Perhaps it was heightened expectations? Naruto hoped so, because the only alternative in his mind was as bleak as a desert. "_That would mean the best my life has to offer is already over…_" But before he could contemplate further, another figure entered the scene and caught his attention.

"Hanabi," a tired Hinata yawned as her eyes adjusted to the sudden nocturnal illumination, "Is something the… matter…?" She trailed off when she noticed the second silhouette and yelped in surprise but settled down when she recognized the shadowed frame of her murderous crush. "N-Naruto! Y-you're back!"

The blonde in question turned his creepy smile to the elder Hyuuga and he drank in her moonlit appearance. Noting that her nightgown was every bit as concealing as her normal attire, he greeted her in his ambiguous nonchalant way. "Hello, Hinata…"

"I-I didn't know y-you were coming back!"

He shrugged since he didn't have much of a reply. "Well, I did."

An awkward silence passed over the two, but it was interrupted by Hanabi slumping to the floor and convulsing.

"H-Hanabi!" the elder sister rushed to her sister's aid.

Naruto merely looked on with apathy. "What's wrong with her?" There wasn't an ounce of concern in his inquiry- he wanted to sleep, but that wouldn't be happening as long as this ruckus was going on.

The young Hyuuga was clutching her chest in indication to the problem. "It's her heart," Hinata replied with a cool tone born of alertness, "Here heart has b-been damaged, a-and if she gets too worked up, she c-could…" She halted herself from going further- the idea of being the last active Hyuuga would break her if it ever came true.

"Die?" The Uzumaki finished the statement for her. The girl's head drooped and she nodded, so the blonde dipped his head in response. "_No skin off my nose._" He wasn't bothered by the death of second rate fear.

Hinata tried in vain to calm her sister- the younger female wouldn't stop hyperventilating, and that put pressure on her weakened heart. "No, please don't d-die Hanabi," the older Hyuuga whispered to no one in particular. "I d-don't want you t-to leave me a-alone…"

As Hinata's tears fell, Naruto stood over the two with resolute boredom. He could tell what the underlying problem was- after all, he was in the business of killing people. But he had never helped anyone recover from this common ailment. Rather, he had always been the one inducing it in the first place. A part of him wanted to ignore everything happening at his feet, but he couldn't very well un-hear Hanabi's panicked wheezing. After a few aggravating seconds, he decided to put an end to it.

He unsheathed his javelin and positioned the pike over the ailing girl's throat. One swift jab would end all the noise and he could go to sleep.

"N-no!" Hinata pushed the weapon out of the way and regarded its owner with a tearstained face. "W-what a-a-are you d-doing?!"

"I'm tired," he yawned, "It's too loud to sleep."

The elder sister couldn't believe her ears; this was the boy she looked up to? What ever happened to the kindness she saw in him? Was there truly no compassion in his heart like he claimed? She didn't want to believe that her sole source of inspiration could do something like killing someone in order to turn down the volume. "N-Naruto," she pleaded, the only thing she could do, "P-Please h-help me!"

Naruto frowned at this prospect. "_Help her?_" he thought, "_No one's ever helped me. Why should I help anyone?_" But this time, a second voice in his head offered a retort. "_But If I let this girl die like this, then that might change things. Hinata might be too angry to be scared…_"He swallowed and thought hard; this wasn't a decision to be made lightly.

If he killed the Hyuuga girl, then Hinata would probably hate his guts along with the rest of the village. "_It'd probably get to the point where I'd have to kill her…_" That was a depressing notion- she was the only one whose face was his perfect source of contentment. If he stood by and did nothing, then the result would probably be the same- his inaction would result in the girl's death as much as his aggression would.

But if he kept the Hyuuga girl from dying…

The blonde scooted Hinata out of the way and went to his knees, grabbing Hanabi's head by the sides and holding her face mere inches away from his. "You need to calm down," he stated in an even voice, "Take long, easy breaths." From there, he plugged her nose and covered her mouth.

"Naruto!" the elder Hyuuga panicked now, "W-what are y-you doing?!"

"Shut up and watch!" he hissed, concentrating on the young girl's eyes. When it appeared that she was on the verge of suffocation, he released her mouth and she sucked in a violent breath before he blocked it again. He repeated this process for several minutes, each gulp of air taken by Hanabi lasting longer than the last. In the end, her rapid breathing was returned to normal and the stress on her heart subsided.

"Y-you," the treated preteen stammered, the oxygen in her brain a little lacking, "S-saved… me…" With that, she passed out.

Hinata released the biggest sigh of relief she'd ever held and unconsciously leaned forward, placing all her weight on the blonde. A second later, she realized she was using the immortal as a support and bolted back with a bright blush hidden by the moon's rays. "I-I'm sorry!"

Naruto grunted, but his eyes were dead and his mind was elsewhere. He stood without saying a word.

The older sister hesitated for a moment. "C-could y-you please h-h-help me take Hanabi t-to her bed?" Once again, the blonde released an affirmative sound, and this worried her- he'd put up such resistance when it came to saving Hanabi's life, yet here he was helping her carry her sibling to her cot without an ounce of conflict. "_There's something wrong…_"

When Hanabi was firmly tucked in, Hinata turned to the Uzumaki and did something she never thought she could do- she hugged him. Granted, she buried her face in his clothes to pretend he was nothing more than a hard smelly pillow, but an embrace was still an embrace. "Th-thank you, Naruto…"

The blonde flinched at the physical contact and didn't relax until the girl released him. With that, he turned away and made for the comfy couch that served as his bedding. He snuggled himself into the cushions and hid his blank eyes from the bright moon, but sleep evaded him. His mind was riddled with an act he thought he'd never do.

He, Naruto Uzumaki, follower of Lord Jashin, had just saved a life.

And it terrified him.

* * *

What's gonna happen to Naruto now that he's saved a life instead of taking it?! And how will he apply the concept of forgiveness?!

One of the reviewers mentioned that Naruto's bein' nerfed. Well... that's kinda true. He's a bit of a pansy at the moment- I can't really argue otherwise. But think about it- What incentive does he have to better himself? He doesn't fight for anyone but himself (currently), and he's physically incapable of dying.

Let's think of it this way: if you were in the army and knew for a fact you couldn't die no matter how many bullets went through you or how many grenades blew your ass up, would you still learn what surfaces make good cover?

But I can promise ya'll one thing: once the Chunin exams get into full swing, Naruto _will_ develop techniques only he can use. It's all... part of the plan...

And, I might add, this chapter isn't everything I've written. I wanted to add much more to this one, but I thought it best to end it where I did. The next chapter is already getting into Naruto powering up (in fact, it's already written).

So... yeah. Enjoy! Deliberate! Review!


	8. Friends? What Friends?

Howdy!

Well, I got some great news from the home front: all my computer components are in and, if all goes well, my new kickass computer will be up and running by the end of the weekend.

Left 4 Dead, here I come!!!!

* * *

The blonde murderer's eyelids creaked open at the sunlight blaring in his eyes and his brain cursed the life giving star before his eyes decided to shut it all out again. He heard birds chirping in the distance and his mouth was dry and stale from a restless night. But all that mattered little when his nose detected the aroma of something other than the blood staining his nasal cavity. He brought himself to shaky feet off the couch and, with no small degree of effort, staggered into the kitchen and crashed into a seat. Now that his butt was firmly planted on something solid, he pried his eyes open again to find three faces staring at him.

"Mornin' Sunshine!" Anko yelled, all but bursting the eardrums of the newly awoken immortal. She bolted from her chair and made her way to the stove for more food with as much gusto as a Mitarashi was capable of performing.

"G-good morning, N-Naruto." Hinata spoke with her usual stutter, averting her pale eyes and blushing at the memory of embracing the blonde the previous evening.

Hanabi didn't actually say anything; she glanced down and kept her gaze off the Uzumaki. But Naruto didn't mind being ignored- in fact, he welcomed the silence.

Anko returned with a steaming pile of… something… and placed it before Naruto. "Better eat it before it gets cold," she proclaimed with a bright smile as she gave the boy's hair an obligatory ruffle. She didn't even wait for another 'what the hell is this?' look.

He stared at her through half-open eyes; he didn't like being touched. He vaguely recalled a hug from someone last night, but at the moment it wasn't important because… "_Shit,_" he swore in his mind, "_Now I'm gonna have that stuck in my head all day…_" The follower of Jashin was still bothered by the fact that he saved a life after threatening to take it. "_What was I thinking?! That's heresy! It's not even a grey area!_"

The generally cheery mood that the females had going before Naruto awoke died with said blonde's mood. In the span of twenty seconds, the Uzumaki had managed to halt all conversation with nothing more than his presence.

Anko, being the most outgoing of all of them, decided to break the ice with some good news. "Hey guys, I got selected to be one of the proctors for the Chunin exam!"

"C-Congratulations, Anko…" Hinata smiled at the snake charmer.

Hanabi gave a simple nod of approval- she was still uncomfortable around this sociable stranger. Interestingly enough, her reply was every bit as effective as Naruto's answer- half an unintelligible grunt.

"W-which t-test are you a part of?" the eldest Hyuuga inquired, having some prior knowledge of the inner workings of the examination.

"I'm in charge of the survival test," Orochimaru's former apprentice couldn't sound more elated. "I _love_ survival tests!"

Strangely enough, Anko got the exact same response as she did when she announced her role- a shy 'congratulations', a nod, and another grunt. She almost ground her teeth on her plate when she couldn't stir up any conversation. Then it hit her. "And guess what?" The Mitarashi leaned in with a devious grin plastered on her lips, "Lord Hokage's letting me have an assistant."

"R-really? W-who?"

If the snake charmer's smirk grew any wider her jaw would have fallen off. She aimed a dramatic finger at Naruto's eating face and proclaimed, "That guy!"

Said blonde stopped feeding for a moment and looked up with the deadest expression he could have; eyes drooping and something that looked like a pancake hanging from his mouth. It took the night owl several seconds to process the verbal information before he aimed a finger at his face. "Me?"

"Yep!"

Hinata wove her fingers together; she was happy for the boy, even if it meant that he would miss an opportunity to go up in rank. "C-congratulations, Naruto!"

The Uzumaki sat still for a moment longer before slumping back in his chair. "Do I really have to?" he whined, "Sounds like a lotta work…"

This caught Anko off guard; she thought the boy would have killed for the job… literally. "You… you don't want it?"

"I don't wanna test a bunch of genin," he continued his tirade, "I'd rather kill them…"

While this elicited horrified glances from the Hyuuga sisters, it didn't surprise the Mitarashi one bit. "Naruto, it's a _survival_ test."

"Yeah, so?"

"You'd be my assistant in testing how well these genin can _survive_ under battlefield conditions."

The blonde's eyes widened at the proposition. "You mean… I get to hunt them?"

She beamed. "Yep!"

"And kill them if I find them?"

"All part of the test."

Naruto bolted from his chair with his arms in the air. "Fuck yeah! Where do I sign?!"

The sweets lover smiled on the outside but was as nervous as the girls to her right. "_It's great that I'm able to connect with him,_" she figured, "_But I need to teach him that killing isn't the only thing out there. How the hell do I do that?_" In all honesty, she hoped that the answer would present itself during the exam. After all, improvisation was her forte. "Now that you're all pumped for it, we're going on a little date today."

His mood died and morphed into confusion. "Huh?"

Hinata's mood also died and morphed in confusion. "W-what?"

Anko snickered- she enjoyed messing with them. "I need to see what you can do besides… well… not die."

The blonde sat down again and crossed his arms; this would be a pain. After all, he'd never needed to truly worry about learning anything- he wouldn't die no matter the situation. "That sounds like work. If I don't wanna do that…?"

The snake charmer shrugged as her young friend took the bait. "Then I'll have to find someone else."

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Fine…" He gave it up. "_I've never been able to hunt sacrifices in the open. If I gotta spend a few days training, it'll be worth it!_" A smile crossed his lips and he glanced at the heavens with a grin reflecting his peculiar spark of madness. "_Thank you for this opportunity, lord Jashin!_"

The sweets lover noted the boy's expression and figured it to be a positive. "Well then," she stated as she stood with a smile, "Let's head out. We got a long day ahead!" She started for the exit as the blonde gulped down the remainder of his juice and followed suit.

Naruto gargled the fruity drink then made known his complaints about the lackluster food. "Did you make breakfast today?"

"Hm? Yeah."

"Your pancakes suck."

"Hey!" she shouted in retort, "Those were omelets!"

Hinata giggled at the walking argument and, after completing her meal and cleaning her plate, informed her sibling of her plans for the day. "I have to go train now, Hanabi. Kurenai told us that we would be working with another team for a while, so I might be a little late coming home today." She smiled. "Take care of the apartment for us."

The youngest Hyuuga nodded. "Have a good day, sister." She watched as her elder sibling closed the door and waited a few seconds to ensure her solitude. She had wanted to say something to Naruto- after all, he did save her life. But every time she even thought of speaking up, her hands shook; that looming image of blood and darkness stained her memory. She knew she was still too afraid of him to thank him face to face, so she did the next best thing.

She sat down, pulled out a pen and paper, and started writing.

-----

Before long, Anko and Naruto stood at one of the more secluded training grounds in Konoha. The pair stationed themselves on a grassy knoll that was surrounded by ancient trees and mossy boulders, isolated from any prying eyes should the blonde see fit to display a few unsavory sights.

"Alright," the Mitarashi stood across from the blonde and assumed an authoritative tone, "You graduated from the Academy, so I assume you know all the crap they teach there…"

"Nope."

This stopped her dead in her tracks. "_Shit, right off the bat?_" She rubbed her chin with her thumb and asked, "Okay, what did you miss?" Perhaps it wasn't too important…

The Uzumaki directed a thoughtful gaze at the sky while sifting through his memories, counting up with his fingers as he rattled off everything he was supposed to know by this point. "I can't use substitution, the transformation technique, any form of genjutsu or the Clone technique…"

Anko almost tripped and fell over nothing. "_Oh my God, he doesn't know anything!_" Nervous perspiration ran down her neck. "Then how the hell did you graduate?!"

"I can make Shadow Clones," he stated matter-of-factly, "I showed Iruka and he passed me."

Her jaw almost touched the dirt. "You can't use the Clone technique but you can make Shadow Clones?! How the hell'd you do that?!"

He shrugged. "I read it from a scroll and managed to do it. Wasn't easy, though…"

She shook some sense back into her skull. "Alright, how many can you make?"

"Uh… the most I've ever made at one time were three."

"_Not very many,_" she mused. "Make some right now. Try to make as many as you can."

Naruto nodded, put his hands together in the proper configuration, and focused. After a few moments, his face reddened as he pushed and he grit his teeth as he dragged forth the necessary chakra.

"Hey," Anko cocked an eyebrow, "Don't strain yourself…"

But her words fell on deaf ears. The blonde's face screwed up so much that it threatened to cave in; his eyes looked ready to pop out of his skull and the enamel of his teeth was ready to crack like so many pebbles under a boulder. Ignoring the snake charmer's consolation, the immortal made a final push with his chakra and completed the technique…

With four clones and a fart as the end result.

The sweets lover analyzed the boy's immediate disposition after laughing- his breathing was rushed and his pulse was out of control. "_Wow. It really takes a lot out of him…_" She was about to deliver the verdict of honing his chakra control when a foreign voice interrupted the relative peace of the grounds.

"I thought that was you," the female voice whistled, "And you even made some clones."

All eyes turned find the intruder and Naruto was the first to speak up. "Asha…" he regarded the associate undead with disdain before realizing that another was behind her. "Haku?"

"M-master!" the ice user yelped in surprise, "It's you!"

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I… uh…"

Asha flung a carefree arm around the stammering boy. "I thought a change in environment would be more exciting." The Uzumaki blanched at that comment- he knew exactly what she had in store.

"Naruto…" Anko regarded said immortal with a nervous glance, "Who are these people?" She noted the similarity of the clothing worn by the blonde killer and the recently arrived female and somehow knew that it couldn't be coincidence.

"I'm Asha," the woman answered as she wrapped herself around the ice user in a suggestive manner, "And this is my Haku…"

The Mitarashi now knew that this person was another follower of Jashin- there was no mistaking that special smile that screamed for blood and lust all at once. She carefully moved her hand towards her pouch to unsheathe a kunai, but Naruto's relaxed demeanor had a calming effect on her- if he was fine with Asha's presence, there must not have been too much danger…

"Have you left my apartment for good?" the blonde murderer began, clearly unconcerned with what the turquoise-haired woman did with her spare time.

"Oh, come on," she cooed as she slid her hands down Haku's pants, "I'm sure we'll be heading back once we're done here…"

The Uzumaki sneered at the woman and addressed the boy in her arms. "How you doing, Haku?" He noted a few minor lacerations decorating the effeminate ninja. "You hangin' in there?"

The ice user gasped when his mistress caressed something private again. "I-I'm fine…"

Naruto shrugged off the answer- it was casual conversation for him. "So how does it feel to be a man?"

"P-please don't joke…" he pleaded as Asha forced him to the ground. "W-what?! Out here?! I-in front of people?!"

"Why not?" the immortal seductress pulled up his shirt as she glanced at the Mitarashi with an unholy smile, "My blood's already pumping…"

Anko was horrified with the situation; here was this strange woman her age going down on this girlish boy who couldn't have been much older than her blonde companion. "Naruto!" she hissed, "What the hell is she doing?!"

"Hm? Ah, that's what she does. Just ignore her…"

Asha moaned even though she was still dressed.

"…Or try to."

The sweets lover tried to heed the boy's advice but couldn't when she heard Haku's young voice cry out. "Oh, no fucking way," she grumbled as she marched to the prone duo and stared Asha down. "You! Get off him!"

"Way ahead of you," the temptress looked up with a bemused smirk, "You want in?"

"W-what?!"

Asha's grin widened and she stood, her loosened trio of robes all but slipping off her slender frame. She leaned in and her face almost touched Anko as Haku gathered himself and scrambled behind a chuckling Naruto. "You know," she spoke in a whisper, "You look delicious yourself. Come on…" She attempted in vain to wrap her arms around the snake mistress's shoulders. "Like they say; the more the merrier. Besides, with two of us, we might be able to get Naruto to join in."

The Mitarashi's mind couldn't help but wander for a split second at that statement. For the briefest of moments, it actually gave thought to the notion of her and Naruto doing things they shouldn't. But of course the rational portion of her brain kicked in and reminded her of common decency, and the end result of the mental conflict was her glancing back and forth between said blonde and Asha with her mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

"Just ignore that," the younger immortal waved it off, "She's always trying to get in my pants."

But Asha wouldn't have it that way- she noticed the hesitation on Anko's features. "Come on," she managed a caressing palm along said woman's cheek, "You really like the idea, don't you?" She leaned in closer, affirming her grip on the woman as she whispered in her ear. "I can see it in your eyes. You want him, don't you?"

"Let go of me," the snake charmer warned. Her words went unheeded as Asha ensnared her in an embrace that brought the foreigner's lips to her ear. For a moment, panic struck her and her muscles tensed under the unwelcome contact. But when the friendly stranger made no threatening movements, she calmed her nerves a bit.

"But then again," the sensuous immortal whispered in a tone so low only her captive could hear, "What woman wouldn't want him? He takes part in the gifts of our lord Jashin and still manages to hold on to his chakra."

Anko frowned and turned her unrestrained head to Asha, keeping in mind the danger of her situation. "What's so special about that?"

That perverse smile never left the female killer's lips. "All those who follow lord Jashin sacrifice their chakra to him in exchange for his gifts. Not a single one of us has use of anything beyond what lord Jashin grants us… except Naruto."

The Mitarashi's mind absorbed this new fact and made a connection. "It's probably…" She caught herself; her absentminded brain was about to think out loud. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't quick enough.

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?" The seductress's hand slid into Anko's skirt and, after a second of fiddling, found its target. The victim gasped as warm fingers closed with an uncomfortable intensity.

"W-what are you doing?"

"I may lead my sacrifices into death with a smile, but I don't like it when people beat around the bush." Upon close inspection, Asha's smiling face bore her true nature; perversity born from violence. "Now, what were you about to say?"

"I… can't…" The Hokage's law had to be upheld…

The immortal's fingers pinched tighter and her smile dissolved, leaving nothing behind save for anger unbound. "I mean it- I'll rip your clit out if you don't talk. Now, you were saying…?"

The Mitarashi was torn- obey an ironclad law and risk permanent injury and death, or divulge one of the biggest secrets of Konoha in exchange for her wholesomeness? A tightening of the sensitive area made up her mind for her in reflex.

"It's the fox," she gasped, "The nine-tailed fox…"

"What about the nine-tailed fox?"

"It's sealed in him." And with that, she was released. She obeyed her subconscious and put distance between her and the hostile, but what she found surprised her.

Asha stood in place with an awed expression on her face. Her vision shifted to a confused Naruto- the blonde having heard nothing of the conversation- and she opened her mouth to speak only to shut it again. She swallowed, adjusted her multiple robes, and strode over to the Uzumaki with swift nervous steps. "Haku," she addressed the boy cowering behind the blonde, "Let's go."

Haku hesitated and conceded when his original master prompted him with a nudge. He wasn't certain what was happening either- he'd never seen Asha like this before. "_I hope she isn't angry. She might take it out on me…_"

The female immortal gazed at the blonde with unreadable eyes. "Is it true?"

Naruto glared back; he didn't like her blank eyes. "What?"

"The nine-tailed fox…?"

He nodded. "It's sealed in me. What about it?" Was she like the villagers? He thought Jashin's loyal saw beyond things like humanity and demons, seeing as how their lives were intertwined with the god of death and blood. But could he have been wrong? For the first time in many years, Naruto felt the old fear of rejection. "_Am I destined to live this way my entire life?_" But as his anger rolled in to squelch his remaining frailty, the last thing he expected came in and cleared his mind of all thought.

Asha cupped his face, lowered her head, and kissed him.

When the Uzumaki's brain restarted, he realized that there was no hostility in the gesture. Asha's hands were gentle, her lips were soft, and her tongue tasted of dull copper, and there was no malevolence in her presence. A second later, she broke away and her smile held no trace of malice or ill will. For the briefest of moments, Asha was genuinely human.

She whispered in his ear before moving away. "I thought you were special, but you are truly a miracle." With that, she turned and departed from the clearing, raising her arm to beckon a hesitant Haku.

When the odd duo disappeared from view, Anko turned to Naruto with no small amount of confusion. "What was that all about?" she inquired, her voice small.

He regarded her with slow confusion. "Your guess is as good as mine…" An awkward minute passed before the blonde spoke again. "Can we just get on with today? I wanna get this off my mind already…" Now he had to deal with Asha's strange behavior _on top_ of having saved a life.

She slowly nodded in agreement. "I could use a break, too…"

------

Hinata arrived at the training ground designated for her team as well as this new squad. Her head was lost in the clouds with the events of the previous evening, so she didn't really notice her surroundings only included the ever silent Shino. The bug user only spared her a glance, so she continued in her mental debate.

"_I hugged him!_" Her cheeks reddened at the memory. "_I… I think I'm becoming stronger. If I hugged him, that means I'm closer to being as open with him as Anko is._" The feeling of mild confidence alone was enough to give her hope for the future; perhaps she really could be of some use to her crush? "_And he also saved Hanabi. I remember crying so hard and begging him to help her, and he did it. What does that mean? Did he save her on a whim? Did he do it… did he do it for me?!_"

She contemplated the Uzumaki performing an act of kindness and related it to every other encounter she'd had with him. Sadly, the blonde's prior actions spoke otherwise. "_Every time he's done something for me, it's been for himself. But why would he save Hanabi? If he hadn't, I would have been sad, and he's told me before that he enjoys my sadness. But if he did save her, I wouldn't be sad, so he wouldn't have gotten anything out of it. But he did, so… what does that mean?_" Deep down, she wanted the answer to be 'because he cares about me', but she couldn't bring herself to heighten her hopes should she be wrong. After all, despite the fact that Naruto saved her from her oppressive home, impending disappointment was still a deciding factor in many of her decisions.

"Hinata?" a gruff voice broke her from her trance, "You awake in there?"

Her pale eyes snapped to reality to find the remainder of her team as well as the other squad waiting on her. Kiba stood before her with his goofy grin that spoke of mild idiocy while Kurenai cleared her throat to garner their attention.

"I've got news for you today," the Yuhi addressed her charges. "I've nominated team eight for the upcoming Chunin exams, and seeing how we've missed some quality training time," she referred to the Hyuuga's hospitalization at the hands of Uzumaki, "We will spend the remaining time training with an experienced squad." Well, that wasn't the complete truth...

"Kurenai!" A man with a hideous bowl cut and even more hideous outfit struck a pose. "I am honored that you wish to hone your team's skills with mine!"

She smiled and tried not to blanch. "The honor is mine, Guy. I appreciate your willingness to assist in my squad's training."

The Hyuuga eyed the newcomers to find a clone of this 'Guy', an older girl with buns in her hair who spared her a frown before moving on, and… "_Sasuke?_" She wondered if her pale eyes were playing tricks on her. "Um… Kurenai?"

"Yes, Hinata?" the Yuhi welcomed the excuse to ignore Guy.

"Why is Sasuke here? Isn't he on N-Naruto's team?"

Kurenai sighed; the last thing she wanted was Hinata thinking about Uzumaki. "_Well, that's what this is all about. Time to put this plan into action…_" She smiled at her student. "Team seven was disbanded and Sasuke was reassigned here."

"But what about Naruto? D-doesn't he have a team?"

She shot her a flat look. "No." Sensing the disappointment in her naïve pupil's eyes, she changed the subject. "But Sasuke's very talented. I'm sure your bloodlines will complement each other very well."

The Uchiha in question broke in on the conversation with a huff and a mutter. "Whatever…"

The illusion mistress rolled her eyes. "_He just has to be difficult too, doesn't he?_" Deciding to get on with it, she addressed her squad as a whole. "Alright, Shino, today you partner up with Tenten," she aimed a palm at the older girl, "Kiba, you're with Rock Lee, and Hinata, you're with Sasuke."

Each of the three obeyed with their own affirmations. Kiba laughed and claimed how easy today's training would be while Shino moved in utter silence. However, as Hinata reluctantly made her way to an indignant Sasuke, her mind was a million miles away.

"_I never knew Naruto's team was disbanded. Now that I think about it, what do I really know about him? All I know is that he can't die and is in a horrible religion. That's all!_" As she approached the Uchiha's back, she raised her eyes with resolve. "_No! I can't think like that! I'm stronger now! I swear that by the end of to day, I'll learn something new about him!_"

Sasuke noticed the sudden gleam in the pale girl's eyes and wondered what could have turned her from stuttering to confident in a single motion. "_Not like it matters; I still don't need anyone's help._"

-------

"Ow! Naruto, stop!"

The blonde chuckled at the pleas. "Oh come on, you were willing to do this earlier. Let's keep going…"

"Please, stop!"

"Why should I?" He smiled.

"You're going too deep! It hurts!"

"Aw, come on," his sick grin never dissipated, "It feels good to me…"

"That's 'cause you're the one doing it! Ow!"

He eyed her like the murderous sadist he was. "I know it feels good in there somewhere. Prove it and I'll pull it out."

She sucked in air through clenched teeth and thought about how to comply with his demand. An idea struck her and she swallowed; this would be tough to pull off convincingly. But she sucked it up and did it- she licked the affected area, being sure to make her hot breath grace the skin before touching it with her wet tongue. In a way, Naruto was right- it provided enough pleasure that she wasn't solely concentrated on the pain. Still hurt like crazy, though.

The Uzumaki laughed and smiled as she held up her end of the bargain, so he did his part. He slid the tip of his javelin from his arm and, by proxy, hers.

"Ah," Anko addressed the wound in her forearm. She should have known that something was up when the blonde asked for some blood. "_Note to self: from now on, make him explain what his abilities are before he demonstrates them…_" As she reached to dress the superficial wound, she watched in awe as Naruto scrubbed out the bloody symbol on the ground. The moment he consumed her smidgen of blood and stepped into that triangulated circle, his flesh morphed into a giant black and white tattoo of a caricaturized skeleton. Of course, he just _had_ to show her what this meant and cut his arm. A wound opened up on both of them before the blonde got the bright idea to drive his weapon in deeper until she cried 'uncle' or satisfied his sadism.

The killer wondered how to proceed; his skin wouldn't revert back to normal for at least a few hours without praying. And since praying without a sacrifice was frowned upon by lord Jashin, that left the option of dealing with the voodoo tattoo until it went away on its own accord. "So," he smirked at the innuendo coursing through his head, "Was it good for you?"

"Yeah, right." She bit off a length of bandage and wrapped the injury. When she finished, she rotated her arm several times to ensure an adequate dressing then gazed at the boy. "Despite the fact it hurts like hell, I'm impressed. I never knew you had a technique like that. But don't use it again on me."

His smile dissolved in a heartbeat and he tapped his foot on the broken circle- an unspoken threat that he could easily do it again should she give him a reason.

The Mitarashi picked up on the change in mood and chuckled nervously. "Sorry, please don't use it on me again. It really does hurt." Noting that he appeared to grudgingly accept the apology, she continued. "Now is that all? Shadow clones and that voodoo thing?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "_There's something up with the fox,_" he recalled how Zabuza cut him in half and his lower half 'grew' a female torso in his place, "_But I don't have a clue how that works. Ah, it's fine- not like I've ever needed it._" He returned his bored gaze to the snake charmer. "That's it. And it's not 'voodoo thing'- it's a blessing from lord Jashin."

She nodded, frustrated how everything circled back to the blood cult. "Okay, then. Your ability to draw blood is your strongest aspect, so I want to work on close quarters combat." She knew this was risky- the blonde might actually kill her in a frenzy if she wasn't careful.

He sighed. "Fine…" Clearly, he was bubbling with enthusiasm. This led to a prompt defeat with Anko sitting on top of him after laying him flat on the ground in a failed charge. "This is about as fun as I thought it'd be."

She frowned. "That was _way_ too easy. Are you holding back on me?"

"Not really." He executed his method of taking hits for advantages and jabbed at the seated Mitarashi with his javelin. The snake charmer escaped with ease as she rolled off him and countered with a salvo of kunai.

All but one knife found its target; the chest and thighs. But Naruto didn't falter; he took the injuries with a sneer and continued running straight for the snake woman. She shimmered out of view and he spun on his heel to slice her…

But she grabbed his weapon hand by the wrist, moved in the opposite direction of his momentum, and jammed his arm into his back to render the attack useless while also incapacitating him. She put him in a headlock with her free arm and squeezed; if she couldn't dissuade him with bodily injury or death, then unconsciousness was all she had left. Seconds ticked by and she felt less resistance, so she thought it worked.

That was when Naruto chose to redouble his efforts. When the snake charmer subconsciously let his slack body sink lower, he spread his legs out against the ground to provide more leverage, dislocated his captured arm while grabbing Anko's suffocating limb, and tried to throw her over his back.

The Mitarashi couldn't believe his physical strength. Granted, he had lowered his center to make things easier, but she couldn't hold him back at all. "_I've been a ninja before he was even born, and he's stronger than I am!_" She had no choice but to release him, but it was too late- he had her arm. She was thrown right over his back and, while keeping a close eye on the javelin to ensure it didn't cut her on the way down, landed on her feet and sprang away on the moment of contact. Turning back to the boy with wide eyes, she couldn't help but wonder what else he was capable of.

The immortal grit his teeth and yanked his shoulder back into its socket. "Ouch! Hurts like a motherfucker!" He swiveled his arm for good measure, nodded, and then rushed at the Mitarashi again.

After another hour of similar routines, Anko knew that the blonde's hand to hand combat skills were as bad as a civilian's. To make matters worse, the boy had taken refuge under a large tree and refused to do any more until further notice. "I'm not gonna lie," she sat next to him, "Your close combat skills are nonexistent. The only thing you've got going for you is that you're freakishly strong. How'd you bulk up so fast?"

He shook his head as it rested on the grass. "Don't know. Must be another of lord Jashin's blessings."

She frowned; there was Jashin again. "I don't think so."

He eyed her from his prone position. "You doubt lord Jashin after everything I've showed you?"

"No, no," she lied, "It's just that I think your strength is your own. I think you've worked for it and earned it."

His brilliant eyes stared at the leaves above and he said nothing.

Anko sighed and leaned back to do the same. Now both ninjas were side by side and staring up into the ancient tree. "You look like there's something on your mind."

A grunt preceded a reply. "It's nothing."

"You know if there's anything you want to talk about, you can tell me."

"Why would I tell you?"

She sat up and looked at him with understanding. "Because that's what friends do."

He frowned and redirected his gaze to the sky again. "No friends."

"That's really sad," she commented, "Most people would kill for someone to show interest in them."

"I'll stick with just killing. That's satisfying enough."

"Really? I thought after the incident with Hanabi last night…"

He shot a sudden glare at her. "What did you say?"

"Huh? You saved Hanabi's life…" She had heard about that incident earlier that morning. "Wait, is that what's on your mind?"

He seethed at her and said nothing; Anko had hit the nail on the head. Naruto lied down again and redirected his scowl toward the heavens in the hopes that she would drop it. Sadly, she didn't.

"That was such a nice thing to do," the Mitarashi said, "I'm really glad you did. I know Hinata and Hanabi are grateful for it…"

"Shut up!" he shouted out of the blue. "I don't want to talk about it!"

This caught the snake charmer unawares. "Wait, that bothers you? The fact that you _saved_ a person's life _bothers_ you?"

He turned over to avoid her eyes and mumbled, "It's heresy."

She barely heard him, but it was enough to worry her. "Helping people is heresy to you? What is with your religion? You have to be alone, you have to kill people, you can't help those you care about…"

"I don't care about anyone," he muttered, "I couldn't care less about Hanabi."

She reigned in her tone to ease up on the boy- this was obviously a heavy issue for him. "Then why did you save her?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I shouldn't have."

"Naruto, please let me help you through this." She placed a gentle palm on his turned shoulder. "If you talk it through with someone, it'll be easier. Let me help you as a friend."

He bolted to his feet in reaction to her words and distanced himself from her, keeping his outstretched javelin between them. Rage boiled in his azure eyes and he screamed. "Quit with this 'friends' shit!! Do you have any idea how many people have been kind to me only to get close and try to kill me?! I don't want friends, I don't need friends!!"

"But…" her grasp on the situation was gone, "They weren't really…"

"Shut up!! With friends like these, who needs enemies?!" He swiveled on his heel and stalked away. Before exiting the training ground, he turned his head and glared at the shocked snake mistress with a single eye. "At least with lord Jashin, I know which side I'm on…"

-------

As the day wrapped up, Tenten was tired. She had to contend with an Aburame all afternoon and, despite the fact that she emerged victorious, she was winded. The quiet Shino was quite the tactician in the midst of battle, so all she could really do was wear him down little by little. All she wanted now was to return home and soak in a hot bath.

She walked down one of the many winding streets to her apartment- a cheap rundown place that she enjoyed enough to call home. It was out of the way with its entrance located in an alley, but she thought its uniqueness quaint. At the very least, it was warm at night and cool during the day, and that was all she needed. As she came upon the isolated footpath that led to her abode, she noticed a shadowy figure seated on top of an overturned trashcan. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion; only a handful of people ever traversed this path, and all of them were neighbors. This person was not one of them.

Upon further inspection, she recognized that striking sunny hair and blue eyes. But that skin… "You're… Naruto Uzumaki."

He spared her a glance, his voodoo markings still in the midst of fading away. "You again. What do you want?"

"Shortcut." She knew better than to say she lived here to such a suspicious person. "Why are you here?"

The blonde broke eye contact and bumped his head against the brick wall. "Because it's quiet."

Tenten eyed the boy for a minute while she sized him up. When Sasuke challenged him the other day, he had been nothing but bloodthirsty. He displayed a bizarre technique that she had never seen before and fought like the world was ending tomorrow. But here he was now, all quiet and introspective. "_What's up with him?_"

Naruto grew annoyed with her staring. "You gonna go or stand there? Go away."

That pissed her off. She crossed her arms in a standoffish way and went on her guard. "My God, you're rude. Haven't your parents ever taught you to respect your elders?"

He gazed at her with blood in his eyes. "Never had parents."

"Oh, well, don't I feel sorry for you." This wouldn't be enough to garner sympathy. "There are plenty of orphans who've grown up to be good people."

"Then what about the rest? Did they turn into monsters?"

"Monsters?" There was that word again- she remembered Kurenai calling him that. "What are you talking about?"

His eyes narrowed. "You look smart; you figure it out."

"Are you saying you're a monster?"

"That's the general assumption."

Tenten relaxed a little; this was the oddest conversation she'd ever had. "Why do they think you're a monster?"

A shrug was the only reply, although Naruto knew the reason all too well. He simply didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment.

"Do _you_ think you're a monster?"

"Hm…" he grunted and eyed his tattooed hand, "I wonder sometimes."

She cocked an eyebrow and shook her head- she had no idea how to respond to all this 'monster' talk. A moment passed before she changed the subject. "I, uh, want to apologize for Sasuke's behavior the other day. He's usually so level-headed, but he just kinda went off on you…"

Naruto's eyes widened and bore a hole in the wall at the mere mention of the Uchiha. "I'll kill him" he mumbled, "I swear I'll kill him for that…"

"What was that?"

He eyed her with pupils brimming with hate. "Tell that bastard that next time I see him, I will kill him, so help me Jashin."

"Hold on," she raised her hands to dissuade the brutal decision, "I know he was a real jerk, but don't you think that's a little excessive?"

"I won't forgive him," he stated, "He doesn't deserve my forgiveness. Life is not precious; there is much of it. Live every moment as it is your final hour…"

Tenten frowned at the chanted passage. "_What's that from? A book or something?_" Deciding that speculation alone would do nothing, she opened her mouth to speak. "Can I ask you something?"

A glare was all he could muster.

She took that as an affirmative. "I heard the stories about you that make you sound like Konoha's boogeyman. I never really believed those stories- they were just rumors- but when I first met you, I thought that maybe those stories were really true." She took a breath and noted that Naruto still looked furious. "But every time you talk, I wonder about that. People call you a monster, even you. But you don't look like you want to believe that. Why is that?"

"People say I'm a monster because I sacrifice people."

"That's not what I meant. I want to know why you sound so heartbroken about it."

"I'm not," he sneered.

"I don't believe you."

For a moment, both ninjas locked eyes in silence. Tenten gazed at the blonde with a mix of concern and wonder while Naruto stared at her with hostility and growing apathy. In the end, the weapon mistress won the staring contest when the Uzumaki looked away.

"Believe whatever you want. Whether I'm a monster or not," he stood and started walking away, "I just don't care anymore. Maybe Asha had the right idea about dealing with this crap…"

When Naruto disappeared from the cramped alley, Tenten couldn't help but frown. "You are such an unusual person."

-----

The sun waned in the horizon as the blonde stepped into its light. His body-length tattoo had finally faded away and he stalked the dusty street without aim. He didn't want to return to Anko's apartment and deal with the Mitarashi, and he sure as hell couldn't sleep in his own bed when it was tainted with weeks' worth of bodily fluids thanks to Asha's tastes. Speaking of which…

"_Why did she call me a miracle? I'm just another of lord Jashin's followers. The only thing that sets me apart from the others is the fox, but what difference does that make?_" He was so lost in his own thoughts that he bumped into someone walking the opposite direction.

"Hey!" an indignant voice called out, "Watch where the hell you're going, kid!"

Naruto turned to stare at the guy to find two people who weren't much older than him. The one who bumped into him was a male who wore a dark body suit with a mummy strapped to the back while the other was a female with her dirty blonde hair done up in four ponytails and a large slat in her sash. He noticed their headbands were different from his, and he made the connection. "You're here for the exams, right?"

"What the fuck does that matter?" the irritated boy stepped toward him. "What do you say to people you bump into?"

"Fuck you and die." He had known this guy for all of two seconds and he already despised him.

"You little shit…"

The girl sighed in resignation. "Kankuro, give it a rest already. We're not here to pick a fight."

"Says you. This damn kid pisses me off…" Before he could finish that thought, he seized up at the sight of something behind the Uzumaki.

The blonde noticed and swung on his heel to counter the sudden threat only to find a boy his age with red hair and a massive gourd strapped to his back. Naruto moved his hand over his modified javelin, but for some reason he felt that he wasn't in any immediate danger.

"Kankuro," the strange redhead spoke, "We're here for early registration, not fighting Konoha's populace."

"But Gaara…" the puppet master whined.

"Shut up," Gaara eyed daggers at his brother, "Or I'll kill you."

Having been in the geographical center of this argument, Naruto perked up at the murderous look in the foreigner's eyes. Something about that gaze was familiar, almost kindred…

The sand ninja then returned the blonde killer's stare and, for a moment, all time ceased. It was only a second, but both boys could feel the other's similarity at their cores.

"Did it just get cold out here?" Temari whispered. She glanced with no small degree of nervousness at the Konoha ninja to analyze him. "_Eh, he's kinda cute, I guess. Not really my type though…_" But all bets went out the window when both boys started doing the same thing simultaneously.

They smiled.

Needless to say, it was the creepiest thing Temari had ever witnessed. She shuddered at the malevolent smirks and walked away. "_Now I know he's not my type…_" She glanced back at the end of the street to find Kankuro close behind her, his face betraying a similar fear.

Meanwhile, Gaara and Naruto exchanged dialogue that only insane men could.

"You smell of blood," the redhead claimed.

"So do you," the immortal added.

"The exams?" Nothing more needed to be said for that question to be clear.

The blonde's smile also needed no words. It displayed a want for bloodshed every bit as strong and perverse as Gaara's.

And with that, the two killers parted ways from their laconic chat. Several blocks away, Naruto felt his lips smile ear to ear. For the first time in his life, he would have the opportunity to actively enjoy killing a version of himself. It was a challenge, a desire for death that all of Jashin's loyal shared. Because, in the end, all those who followed Jashin wanted was the one thing they could never do.

Kill themselves.

------

Night fell and Anko's door burst open to reveal a grinning Uzumaki. The blonde waltzed through the apartment for the couch and, upon entering the small living room, shouted for his benefactor.

"Anko! You home?!"

"Huh?" Her face poked out of her room and brightened. "Naruto! You're back!"

"Indeed I am!" He aimed his manic smirk and a finger at her. "And we're training again tomorrow!"

She scrunched up her face; she was under the impression that the blonde wanted some space for a good while. "_He was really angry when he left. What happened?_" But in the end, why look a gift horse in the mouth? She swallowed her concern and proclaimed, "That's great, I look forward to it! Do you, uh, want some dinner?"

"Yes!"

The snake charmer chuckled at his unusual enthusiasm. "_I'm glad that he's excited,_" she thought as she walked to the kitchen, "_But I wonder why?_" It hit her that he must have found something to get worked up over, and that almost always spelled disaster. "_But maybe, just maybe, it's not about killing…_" As she heated up a pan of leftovers, she heard Hinata emerge from her room and she peeked through the doorway while the food sizzled.

The shy Hyuuga approached the beaming blonde on the couch and spoke nervously. "Um… N-Naruto…"

"Yeah?" His sick smile was palpable.

"I… er… wanted to tell you s-something."

The seriousness in the girl's voice did wonders to the boy's outward zeal. As his grin receded, he maintained much of his good mood. "What's up?"

Hinata took a seat next to the blonde and fought to keep from fainting. "_I'm stronger than that,_" she reminded herself, "_I will persevere, for his sake._" Mustering as much courage as she could, she faced her crush and spoke in the smoothest voice she could. "I w-wanted to tell you that i-if there's ever anything bothering you, y-you can tell me."

Naruto's demeanor died in an instant. "This again? I said I didn't want friends…"

"T-that's not it!" she rushed a response. Her mind was saddened by the idea that he didn't consider a friend, but she knew she had to get her point across. "I-I'm not asking you to accept m-me as a friend, but… I will still listen to a-anything you want to tell me."

The boy's face screwed up in confusion. "What're you getting at?"

She averted her eyes; it was the only way to soothe her anxiety. "I j-just want you to know that despite what you th-think of me, I will always f-follow you." A brief glance uncovered even further bewilderment.

"What are you talking about? Why the hell would you follow me?"

"I…um…I w-would d-d-do anything f-for you, N-Naruto." Her stutter betrayed her shy nature overcoming her affection for the immortal. "I-if anything else, p-p-please know that I-I'm always h-here for you!"

As Naruto frowned at her, Anko smiled to herself. "_The words are different, but it's the same message. I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't given up on him…_"

------

The moon rose high in the sky and Jashin's killer tossed in his sleep. He might have found distraction in Gaara, but it was momentary when compared to everything else that day. At least in slumber he could forget everything… or so he thought.

The only person to witness his discomfort was Hanabi. Her small feet patted across the floor as she approached the boy and her pale eyes watched him like a cat would a large dog. She shivered in his presence, but she also knew that this was something she had to do.

She leaned forward and placed her letter on the table before the Uzumaki. Inside was everything she wished she could say but not bring herself to, and this method was the only way to convey her message to him without utterly breaking down. As she placed the paper on the table, her head nodded in satisfaction and rose so she could retreat…

But she froze when her neck touched cold steel. Her pale eyes glanced at Naruto to find him glaring at her with a single eye and resting the bladed end of his pike on the back of her neck. The mere sight of this was enough to make her heart beat faster, and her quickened breath was a sign of such.

"What are you doing?" The boy spoke in a low rasp.

"Um… I… uh…" Her heart beat faster and faster.

Naruto eyed her for a second longer then noticed the unfamiliar slip of paper on the table. Removing his javelin from her neck, he leaned forward, snatched up the note, and tore it open with little grace.

Hanabi straightened and judged the older boy's response through his roaming eyes. She trembled whenever his expression changed in the darkness, but her spirits lifted when he regarded her with little more than a curious frown upon completion.

"You wrote this?"

She nodded quickly.

"I see." He glanced at the letter once more- its short passages consisted of thanking him for saving her life alongside an explanation of her nervousness around him. It was rather detailed and poetic- it reminded him a bit of the fancy speech used in Jashin's scriptures. Of course, the Hyuuga's message was filled with optimism and hope rather than lord Jashin's eternal commandments of lethality. He crumpled the paper, tossed it back on the table, and rolled over. "Good night."

The young girl searched for words; she was shocked he just did that. "D-do you not… have a response?"

He raised a hand and waved her off without looking. "I'm not interested in little girls. Go away."

Hanabi couldn't believe it. That letter had taken a massive amount of courage to write, even if it was to only say 'thank you'. Her hands still shook every time she envisioned the looming dark figure of Jashin's loyal, but she had temporarily overcome her terror in order to reach out to her source of horror. But the boy disregarded her emotions as easily as he did the paper- crushed it without a shred of remorse or thoughtfulness.

Rather than anger though, she was sad that the blonde- the figurehead of strength and cruelty imprinted on her mind- had dismissed her without a second thought. She whispered "You… you're so cruel…" before running away.

When the room was lonely again, Naruto turned over and stared at the ceiling and wondered if he would ever get a good night's sleep again. "_To save someone only to have them call you cruel…_"

"Yep," his voice was lost in the breeze blowing through the open window, "That's how it'll always be, won't it?"

* * *

Some parts of this chapter weren't as good as I thought they'd be, but a lot of it's introductory in nature.

So look forward to the next update, 'cause that's when the Chunin exams are startin'. And boy howdy, how there are plot twists waiting!

On that note, catch ya'll later!


	9. Why should I care about you?

Yo! Here's the next chapter!

It's a little shorter than the previous ones, but bear with me. I'm juggling a lot of things at the moment with school, computers, portfolios, and all other kinds of things to keep my busy. As much as I enjoy writing, I just can't find the time to really sit down and go for it.

With that in mind, on with the chapter!

* * *

When the sun dawned the next morning, Naruto slept in like he always did. It didn't matter how noisy the foot traffic became, he somehow managed to sleep through it. Even the combined efforts of Anko and Hinata to rouse him with promises of breakfast did nothing… that is, until he actually smelled food.

The Uzumaki rose like a zombie from the grave and trudged over to a seat in the kitchen, almost breaking his tailbone when he crashed his butt into the chair. The sharp pain woke him for an instant, long enough for him to eye the food before him. "Wow," he muttered, "I can actually tell what this is…"

"Hey!" Anko took offense to that, "I'm not _that_ bad!"

"Eh," he shrugged, unwilling to argue about anything. He stuck a fork in the waffles and ate slowly, as one would reluctantly consume a dead animal. "Hey," he couldn't have sounded more unimpressed, "This ain't bad. Hinata cook today?"

Said Hyuuga reddened ever so slightly at the notion that the blonde immediately assumed she was the source of nourishment. However, as sweet as that was to her, she had to fess up. "I-it was Hanabi's turn today…"

"Ah." The immortal glanced at the youngest girl; she cowered under his gaze, although there was a touch of nervous resentment in her features as well. Their eyes locked for a few awkward seconds and nothing more was said as the blonde grunted and continued eating.

This unusual interaction was not lost on anyone. Hinata wondered why Naruto remained silent while the Mitarashi figured that something must have happened last night.

"C'mon," the snake charmer scarfed down her food and stood, "We got a lot to cover today…"

-----

Hours later, Naruto and Anko sat under a tree, both of them panting for breath. The Mitarashi decided that, since the blonde was all but incapable of using chakra, she would drill him in hand-to-hand combat. Such training required hands on approach, and she was, apparently, the only shinobi around that had such free time to spare. Other jonins were either too busy running their squads through similar regiments or had their hands tied with security detail and missions in lieu of the exams. She wasn't especially gifted in the field of martial arts, so this training was almost as beneficial for her as it was the immortal.

All that said, she was all but outmatched for the boy's freakish strength by this point. His muscles seemed to adapt to combat better than hers ever had, and she marveled at how his strength grew at an exponential rate. She spared him a glance from her prone position- he was, without a doubt, one of the physically strongest genin she'd ever come across. "_Hell,_" she thought, "_Do I even know anyone else who's that strong without chakra control?_" Of course, she was more nimble than him, but that didn't take back the few times he buried a solid fist or foot into her gut and knocked the wind out of her.

That aside, it was the most fun she'd had in years. She'd always wanted a team or apprentice of her own, but the council denied her that privilege thanks to her former relationship with her treacherous master and the mute threat of her curse seal. To make matters worse, that decision turned out to be one of the issues the Hokage had to accept as a compromise to some other issues- something about using the civilian market for extra funds in the ANBU. But that was all in the past now, and the present more than made up for it.

"Hey Naruto," she rolled over on her side to address him.

"Yeah?" He remained face up.

"Did, uh… something happen last night?"

Now he looked at her, disdain at the ready. "And if it did?"

She shrugged, trying not to upset him. The last time she brought up something sensitive, he threw a fit and stormed off. She didn't want that to happen again if she could help it. "It's nothing. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all ears if you wanna talk about it."

His glare never diminished. "I don't."

"Okay…" She conceded defeat and lied back down to stare at the clouds above. "_So much for the direct approach. Why does he have to be so difficult?!_"

An awkward moment passed between the two proctors with neither saying anything. Long minutes passed, and when Anko felt her sweat dry completely, she almost sat up and announced that they continue. Almost.

"Why?" the blonde asked.

"Hm?" her heart jumped into her throat at the sudden break in the silence. "Why what?"

"Why do you say that you'll listen to me?"

She gazed at him again, glad that he was opening up, even if only a little. "Because that's what…" she was about to say 'friends' before remembering it was a taboo word, "People do when they care about someone."

He arched an eyebrow. "Care?"

"Yep!" She smirked at him like a young girl without a care in the world. "When someone important to me is suffering, I want them to feel like they can at least talk to me."

Another awkward silence. "Why? What's talking going to do?"

"Well, uh…" That was actually a good question. "It makes you feel better to tell other people your problems. And it's comforting to know that there are people out there who care enough to listen."

Naruto sat up and eyed her. His face was screwed up in concentration, like he was putting two and two together for the first time. "Do you…" he hesitated, unsure if his statement was right or wrong, "Care about me?"

She chuckled and smiled and ruffled his unruly hair. "Absolutely; you're my friend."

He froze at that word and snarled. "Not this again…"

"Hey," she retracted her hand and regarded him with a soft expression, "I know you don't consider me a friend, but that doesn't mean you're not a friend to me or Hinata."

The blonde squinted in confusion; wasn't friendship a two-way street? Two people who, Jashin forbid, had a mutual trust? "_But if what Anko says is true, then does that mean that friendship is about caring about the other person as well? Or is it just caring without trust? And isn't it supposed to go both ways?_"

The snake charmer watched the immortal wrack his brain with unspoken questions, wishing he'd ask her more but knowing that he would most likely bottle it up. Sadly, she knew him all too well.

"Let's keep training," Naruto stood. "_I wanna get all this out of my head…_"

Anko sighed and obliged, reveling in the fact that she at least got to explain something as important as friendship. "_This'll take time,_" she knew, "_But I got a hunch that once he gets it, we'll all be that much happier._"

-----

Hinata sat on the Mitarashi's couch, the late afternoon sun painting her with crimson yellows through the balcony window. Hanabi was taking an early bath, so she had some time to herself. She glanced around to ensure her solitude and indulged in a guilty pleasure- burying her face in the cushions and taking a deep whiff. The aroma always put a smile on her lips; it reeked of blood, sweat, and ferocity.

It smelled like Naruto.

After a blissful eternity of four seconds, she glanced out the window again and reflected on what the hell she was doing.

If someone had approached her a month ago and told her she would be freed from her oppressive family, become the proverbial apple of her crush's eye, and live under the same roof as him, she would have forgotten her manners and laughed at them. Such a thing would have been an utter impossibility.

But here she was, and it was all true. Granted, her beloved wasn't exactly caring about her in a healthy way, but she was convinced that she could summon the strength to save him from himself. "_I just can't believe that he wants to be alone…_"

She let her mind wander and thought about the rest of her day, specifically her training with Gai's squad. Once again, she was paired up with Sasuke while Shino and Kiba switched partners. Kurenai seemed rather adamant that she pair with the Uchiha, arguing that a bloodline could be sharpened better with another bloodline. "_But… that isn't like Kurenai. She must have another reason for making me practice with Sasuke…_"

She winced upon memory of the boy; he was almost colder than Naruto and just as distant. Hinata recalled a vocalized observation she made to him that would have made his fire technique more efficient should he act on her advice. In return, he insulted her with silent eyes and redoubled his efforts against her during their sparring session. As expected, she lost horribly, but this time Sasuke made sure to rub it in.

'I can't believe the last Hyuuga is this weak' he said. It was cruel, cold, and, to her dismay, absolutely true. At least Naruto didn't seem bothered by her constant failings, but the very fact that she was participating in the Chunin exams had woken her up from her dreaming and reminded her how weak and foolish she really was. Her father may have been dead, but she could still hear his voice.

Before she could delve further into her self-induced depression, the door swung open and the blonde waltzed in ahead of the Mitarashi. Hinata perked up at the sight of the boy and sat up upon his arrival in the living room.

Anko noticed the girl's mood and winked at her from behind the Uzumaki. She decided to give them a little breathing room, so a convenient excuse was in order. "I'm gonna go take a bath."

"Oh," Hinata's polite reflexes kicked in, "Hanabi's already in there."

The snake mistress promptly ignored the warning as she whipped off her overcoat and strode for the bathroom. "Sweet! The more the merrier!" Seconds later, she disappeared around the corner and only voices could be heard. "Hanabi," she sang at the sound of an opened door, splashing water, and a horrified shriek "Scoot over! You've got sexy company!"

When the door shut again, Naruto shook his head and took a seat next to the elder Hyuuga sister on the couch. He reclined as best he could without overtly lying across her lap, and his tired eyes closed as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Sweet sleep…"

Meanwhile, Hinata's cheeks were on fire from the close proximity. Naruto had made no efforts to greet her or start a conversation, so the best she could conjure up was a simple, "S-so how was your day, N-Naruto?"

"Eh," he waved a hand without raising his head or opening his eyes, "So-so."

"I-I see…" Once again, nothing more came to mind. She sat in silence, frustrated that she couldn't make small talk while the blonde refused to do so. After a minute, she decided to talk about her day, regardless of what Naruto would say in return. "M-my team is training w-with another team f-for the Chunin exams."

"Hm." What an excited response.

"Kiba worked w-with a girl named Tenten, a-and Shino worked with a boy named R-Rock Lee…"

"Hm." He couldn't have cared less.

Hinata looked down in defeat, unsure if he was even listening. Being ignored by the boy she admired when he was so close did nothing to help her mood and her thoughts turned to darker things. "I… I'm not s-sure about the exams…"

Although he didn't open his eyes, Naruto frowned at the ceiling. Was this what Anko talked about? Listening to others' problems? He decided to wait and hear a little more.

"I… I'm not very confident about my skills, and I k-know that people have died during the exams. I don't want to hold my team back, but I'm afraid that I'm so weak that I'll do it anyway." She looked at his apathetic form with tears forming in her eyes. "I-I'm afraid…"

Naruto let that sentence hang for a moment. "Afraid of what?" he stated, still not bothering to lift his head.

"A-afraid that I may… d-die…"

The blonde finally lifted his head and regarded her with tired eyes. "You won't die."

She was happy at his words, but they weren't enough to stem her depression. "B-but…"

"You are mine," the immortal continued, "And you won't die until I say you do."

Hinata stared at him for a moment, the implication of his words sinking in. "B-but I w-want to grow stronger, so you d-don't have to protect me all the time. How can I do that i-if I die before I…" She was about to say 'before I can save you' but caught herself- the killer was notoriously temperamental about these things.

Naruto said nothing as he straightened and turned to her. His brilliant eyes became serious and he regarded Hinata with unusual attentiveness; he remembered how the Hyuuga told him that he could confide in her if anything troubled him and, coupling that with what Anko told him that morning…

"Hinata," his voice was sincere and matter-of-fact, "Do you care about me?"

Naturally, this caught the girl off guard. Her pale eyes widened and her cheeks burned at his question and her stutter returned in a nasty strain. "O-o-of c-course I d-do."

The blonde put things together in his mind. "_She told me the same thing Anko did- that I can talk to her whenever I feel like it. Anko said that's a sign of caring, and that caring is what a friend does… so… that means Hinata thinks of me as a friend._" Satisfied with his assumption, he nodded thoughtfully and returned to his relaxed position.

On the other hand, Hinata was petrified. "_Why did he ask that? Did… I reach him? Have I helped him, just a little? Does he…_" She felt lightheaded at the mere thought. "_Does he care about me?_"

"Hinata," his voice and single open eye broke her from her revelry, "If you care about me, then you won't die." It made sense to him- if she truly cared about his desires, then she would persevere and live for his whims. "Simple as that."

The Hyuuga's face did an excellent job imitating a tomato before she passed out and fell forward. And seeing as how she fainted right in the boy's lap, she was destined to collapse one more time upon waking.

-----

Dinner was as awkward as it could get. Anko and Hinata singlehandedly carried any conversation while Hanabi glared at Naruto off an on all night. The blonde grew annoyed by her stares after a while, and that only made things worse. Thankfully, the immortal was hungry enough to complete his meal before becoming going on the warpath.

"The hell's your problem?" he stated across the table, apathetic to the nervousness of his hosts.

"I-it's nothing," Hanabi glanced to the side to brush it off.

"The hell it's not. You got something to say?"

She fumed at him as best a seven-year old could before remaining indignant. "I said it's nothing."

The Uzumaki ground his teeth and clutched the table's ledge in a fruitless attempt to channel his building anger. "You've been looking at me all day. Something's up; spit it out!"

This time it was Hanabi's turn to get mad; this boy who trampled on her feelings thought she owed him? "I said it's nothing! Why do you care?! It's not like you did last night!"

Anko and Hinata shared confused glances and tensed in preparation for violence. Things weren't looking up…

And they didn't improve. Naruto stomped across the table and hoisted the young Hyuuga from her chair with a single hand. "I _don't_ care! Why did you ever think I gave a shit about you?!"

"You saved my life!" she spat back, unaware that her accelerated heartbeat was reaching its limit. "What am I supposed to think?!"

"I was supposed to _kill_ you! You think I should go through with it now?!" He made good on his threat by unsheathing his javelin and aiming the spiked end at her heart. "Go on! Give me a reason to do this! Do it!!"

Hanabi tried to be angry at him, she really did, but now that her life was on the line again she couldn't help but feel one thing.

Fear.

Her pale eyes betrayed her horror to her abuser and became wet with tears. "I d-don't understand…" she sobbed, "W-why are you doing this? I-I thought you were a good person…"

"Well I'm _not_! No one is! No one ever does anything out of kindness; they do it when they'll get something in return!"

All residents quieted at this statement; did Naruto really believe this? Was this the reason he distrusted people? A few seconds ticked by and the silence could be cut by a knife.

The Uzumaki growled and released Hanabi from his grip. She fell to the table and choked for air while he stalked off and slammed the apartment door behind him.

Anko and Hinata instantly directed their attention to the young girl, attempting to sooth her from her tears as best they could. It was no simple matter, seeing as even they didn't truly understand the situation.

-----

Naruto wandered the streets of his hometown, rage boiling off of him. "_I saved her fucking life,_" he recalled, "_And this is how she thanks me? Tells me I'm some kind of inhuman monster?_"

He stopped and gazed at the full moon. His anger died a little upon the surreal sight and he wondered why Hanabi's words bothered him so much. He couldn't stop running their nocturnal conversation through his head and analyzing every syllable that came from her lips. Slowly yet surely, he halted atop a cliff on one of the training grounds and sat in the dark night, knowing full well why it disturbed him so.

"_I did something nice for someone and they stabbed me in the back._" His prevalent thinking insisted that she was the one at fault, but a tiny voice in the back of his head said otherwise. Let it not be said that Naruto Uzumaki was not an honest man, even to himself. He knew full well why she reacted the way she did, but he simply didn't want to admit it. "_She wrote that letter, and I pretty much ignored it. But I saved her life, shouldn't that be enough?! Just because I slip up once doesn't make me a good person!_" This thought led to another; one so horrible that he'd been putting if off for as long but no longer could.

"_Or does it?_"

He stewed in his self-depreciation, frustrated that life's answers weren't black and white. Up until now, lord Jashin's word was law, but now he wasn't sure what to believe. He wanted nothing more than to avoid the issue entirely, but he simply couldn't run from it anymore. A foreign voice broke him from his thoughts; the distraction he desired.

"Ah, knew I saw you."

He turned to find the newcomer taking a seat next to him. "Go away, Asha. I don't wanna talk right now."

"C'mon," she cooed, "That any way to address a fellow believer?" He didn't answer and she shrugged. "Well, guess that's really true for us. But you look like you got problems."

"_Why did she have to show up now of all times?_" he moaned. Hoping that his silence would prompt her to leave, he realized after a while that she wasn't going anywhere. "Asha," he began, "Have you ever… saved someone?"

She eyed him curiously but, thankfully, didn't demand clarification. "I've spared people, yes."

"No, I mean, have you actually _saved_ someone, like bringing them back from the brink of death?" He averted his eyes in shame; he knew he was admitting his sins to a fellow believer. But at least she seemed nonchalant about these things as of late…

"Ah, I gotchya." She stared at the moon and sifted through memories of days gone by. "I did, once. Long time ago."

Naruto glanced at her, a tad surprised that she did so as well. "What did that feel like?"

She sighed but didn't return his gaze. "It felt good… for a while."

"A while?"

"Yeah." Silence passed between them and she redirected her eyes to his. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Can you?"

She chuckled and continued. "I've never told anyone this, but I saved a girl just after I converted. She was a pleasure slave from the man who traded me in, and I killed her owner just before he laid his hands on her. We became friends because of that."

"Friends? You know what friendship is?"

"Yeah," she looked bittersweet. "I was kinda happy for a while, too. We grew up together."

"What happened after that?"

She regarded the moon with a sad smile. "We started getting older, and everyone realized what I was."

"How'd that work?"

"I stopped aging."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Aging? How old are you?"

"I dunno, eighty? Eighty-five?"

The blonde's jaw scraped the boulder. "Holy shit!"

"Oh come on," she slapped him on the shoulder; "You know damn well that we don't age like everyone else."

"Yeah, but… I thought they got all wrinkly and stuff."

"Nah," she almost sounded like she would have preferred that, "Just another of lord Jashin's gifts."

"Huh. So… what happened to you friend?"

"She learned that I worship lord Jashin and cut me off. That was when I quit trying to make sense of it all and started having fun."

"I see…" He said nothing for a while, analyzing Asha's words in the moonlight while the fellow immortal relived her own painful times. "You said you know what friendship is. What's it like?"

"Eh," she shrugged, "I guess if I had to say, it's just enjoying spending time around someone."

"I see…"

"Now," she changed the topic, if only to distract herself, "You heard my secret; what about yours? What did you do?"

"Nothing, really…"

"Don't lie. You wouldn't ask me something like this if you weren't dealing with it yourself."

He sighed; she had his number. "I, uh… calmed someone down from rupturing an artery."

"Ah." She sat back against the cool stone and watched the moon as if it were lost innocence. "And you're bothered by the fact that you sinned?"

"Yeah, and…"

"And…?"

"She, uh… she called me cruel."

The seductress barked out a laugh. "You serious? That's it? Wow…"

"Shut up."

"Why'd she call you that? I know it's true and all, but she must have had a reason to call her savior a bastard."

Naruto knew the reason but lied nonetheless. "I don't know."

But Asha had been around too long to be fooled by such a flimsy excuse. She saw the tumult in the young immortal's eyes and, fully understanding the pain of such mistakes, decided to let it go. "I don't believe you, but you know what? I really don't care…"

The blonde wondered why he even bothered listening to this bitch if she wasn't going to offer anything in return.

"But you know," she continued, "Mortals haven't thrown their lives away like we have. They're weak and frail, and they're in touch with their emotions a lot more than we are. We're simple- we kill for lord Jashin, we survive everything, and we have what little fun we can out of it. But mortals, they wonder about their own existence and try to work out how they feel about themselves and each other. They try to justify their existence by their emotions instead of their actions."

"Kind of like you did."

"And just like you're doing," she rebutted while sitting up. "Look, Naruto," she placed an understanding hand on his shoulder, "We all go through this some time or another. It's just us realizing that we've shed our mortality and have become something different. This girl you saved- I don't know what it is, but she must have felt enough pain to put you down, especially after you saved her life. She tried to find meaning behind separate events when there wasn't anything there to begin with."

Naruto regarded her with a blank stare then redirected his gaze to the night sky. It was an odd thing, confiding in Asha; she was the only one who seemed to understand his bewilderment while sharing in his apathy. "_Speaking of which…_"

"Asha?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you regret your past?"

She said nothing for a minute. "Shut up."

Naruto obeyed; that was the standard answer for anything Jashin's loyal didn't want to talk about.

-----

As the moon rose in the sky to herald the peak of night, Naruto slipped into Anko's apartment with nary a sound. He strode to the living room for the couch, but it was occupied by someone he didn't want to see at the moment.

The Mitarashi awaited him. "You came back," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yep," he looked her dead in the eye, his natural sense of defiance coming into play.

"You know why I'm here, right?"

This time he merely nodded.

Anko sighed; she didn't want to push the blonde away, but judgment was in order this time. "Hanabi's okay; we managed to calm her down. She's asleep now."

Once again, he nodded. But then he made his way for the Hyuuga sisters' room.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He glanced back at her. "Tying up loose ends."

She grimaced for a second. "You don't mean…?"

"There's something I need to understand. I won't kill her."

The snake charmer relaxed. "_I guess even immortals need some time to themselves…_" She glanced at him and pursed her lips. "Do what you have to do. Be ready to train in the morning."

He nodded and opened the door to the shared bedroom. His footsteps woke Hinata, but his presence informed the girl that he wasn't there for a fight. Not this time, anyway.

"Wake her up," he told Hinata without looking. Sensing her hesitation, he locked eyes with her. "She'll be fine; I need to talk to her."

The elder sister swallowed and nodded, knowing that when the blonde became serious, he meant every word he spoke. She gently roused Hanabi and the young girl turned over in a drowsy daze.

"What is it sister?"

"There's someone here to see you," she whispered before giving the floor to the immortal.

Hanabi redirected her pale eyes to her visitor then bolted up from her bedding. Her heartbeat raced at the sight of the murderous boy and she tensed; had he come to finish her off?

"Hanabi," the Uzumaki stated in a level tone, "When you wrote that letter, did you mean all of it?"

She trembled at where this was going. "Y-yes..."

His stare bored into her and he knew her words to be true; people tended to be honest when confronted with something potentially lethal. "I want you to understand something."

She eyed him in trepidation. "What?"

"People like me don't… feel the same way others do. We don't thank others, we don't admire others, we don't apologize for anything. We're simple minds that follow our desires and nothing more."

The Hyuuga sisters both stared at the boy with wide eyes. Was this a bizarre way of apologizing?

"I know I saved your life, and I know I ignored your letter, but for someone like me, those two things don't relate to each other. I don't really know how to explain it better than that." Truth be told, even he didn't really get it. He knew this was how he should feel- that lord Jashin's command was that he be eternal yet temporary in both mind and body. He didn't feel sorrow for his actions… or so he believed.

Hanabi realized this was the longest speech the Uzumaki had ever given her, and it was insightful to her. She was young, but she could tell that Naruto was uncomfortable telling her these things that even he probably didn't understand. After a moment, the blonde turned to walk away and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Do… you mean that?"

He glanced at her from over his shoulder. "Yes."

She nodded, still taking it all in. "Then I forgive you."

The immortal squinted in recognition of the word then strode to the couch for sleep. Once again, his rest was troubled by the day's events.

-----

The days passed and turned into a week, during which there was little incident. For a while, the seemingly random killings died down and peoples' nerves calmed as a result. Many thought that the time of slaughter had come to an end, but most believed it was nothing more than the calm before the storm.

The latter would have been saddened to know how right they were.

As the Chunin exams approached, the village was filled with foreign shinobi. Tension was always high during these times as ninja cities, regardless of alliance, saw fit to send their best, brightest, and most dangerous warriors to a central location. Usually, this was a sign of good fortune, as the host village always saw an increase in business and productivity. Local lords as well as general populace would flock to the showcase fights to place their bets and spend their money in noteworthy vendors and shops. The host village always saw a boost in economy and, as such, it was a privilege to hold the exams. But there was always that equal risk of things going horribly, horribly wrong.

But as these brutal tests loomed on the horizon, a certain blonde and his fellow proctor sat beneath a cluster of trees. Their lungs heaved for oxygen and their muscles unconsciously flexed to loosen the tightness, but both ninjas had accomplished a great deal in return for their efforts.

"Well, Naruto," Anko sat up and eyed the immortal with a tired grin- he was now physically stronger than her. His forms were crude, incomplete, and sloppy, but that suited his state of living better than it would for any normal shinobi. "I think you're ready for tomorrow…"

Naruto said nothing as he smiled that sick smirk of his and holstered his javelin.

The snake charmer wondered what went through the blonde's head. He spoke very little ever since his talk with Hanabi, and Hinata told her everything about it. She couldn't help but feel that there was progress within his attitude about others, but when he closed up like this it made enduring his mood swings that much harder. "_I think Hinata and I have done almost everything we can. The rest is up to him…_"

-----

Hinata's stomach was in knots as the written test was passed out. During the remaining training time left, Kurenai arranged for her team to train with Guy's. What was more unnerving was that, despite the constant changing of partners, she was most often paired with Sasuke. It wasn't that she didn't like the Uchiha, but he was a cold person. Not once had he ever congratulated her for any progress made or tried to make small talk; he was a blank slate.

Not that she was disturbed by it- far from it. Naruto was every bit as difficult as Sasuke at times, if only in his own unique way. She couldn't help but pity the Sharingan user, but she remembered her scant attempts to convey this. They usually ended with him blowing her off in a manner reminiscent of her overbearing father. She didn't know why he was so heartless, but that manner of cruelty reminded her of her past all too well.

But all that was moot at the moment; she sat in the examination room amidst some of the most dangerous people alive. The purpose of the test was easy- reconnaissance. This was practically a nonissue for her, given her abilities. In fact, it took her longer to write the answers than it did to locate the various planted shinobi whose presence was to provide solutions. All that she had to do now was wait, and that was grueling due to the people sitting on either side of her.

To her right sat the Uchiha. His eyes burned with the Sharingan as he read the movements of examinees' pencils and his fingers moved in perfect synchronization. What unnerved Hinata was the fact that he copied a few of her answers right off her test sheet without even trying to hide it from her.

He stifled a chuckle and smirked at her upon completion. "Seems your bloodline _is_ useful for some things…"

The Hyuuga did her best to ignore Sasuke, an easy task once he went back to doing the same after his comment. But as abusive as the boy was, the person to her left was infinitely worse.

Said shinobi wore an enormous gourd on the way in and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. His dull red hair only accented the misplaced tattoo on his forehead, and his preferred info-gathering technique consisted of recreating his eyeball and spying on someone from afar. Needless to say, it was creepy.

"What do you want?" the boy asked in a cool, collected voice, irritated at Hinata's nervouse glances. "Mind your own business or I'll kill you."

The Hyuuga obeyed in a heartbeat and shuddered. This guy reminded her of Naruto when she first met the blonde; cruel and heartless. Well, maybe Naruto hadn't changed all that much, but at least he seemed interested in keeping her alive. She quieted down and unconsciously scooted away from Gaara, unaware that her subtle retreat only brought her closer her to Sasuke.

The Uchiha noted her gravitation towards him and raised an eyebrow. He felt the dangerous presence of the Sand ninja and knew he was the cause of the girl's fright, but she seemed just a little too comfortable with being so close to him in the process. Sasuke couldn't help but notice a faint sweet scent, and he closed his eyes in introspection. Perhaps she wasn't as dismal a shinobi as he thought…

-----

Once the written test wrapped up and the proctor- Ibiki- explained in full detail the purpose of the written exam as well as the final trick question, Anko made her dynamic entrance. Hinata couldn't suppress a giggle at the woman's exuberance; it was just like her to be this gung-ho. It was painfully obvious that the Mitarashi grossly overestimated what the mood would be and that in and of itself was humorous.

As expected, the snake charmer then led everyone to Arena forty four, also known as the Forest of Death. Anko went through the motions of introducing all the teams to the most harrowing training ground Konoha had to offer before ordering them to sign disclosure forms in case a village wanted vengeance for the death of a prized genin. Of course, these sheets were also part of the scare tactics the snake mistress employed.

"Alright, listen up!" she announced, "Here are the rules!"

Everyone, Hinata included, paid rapt attention.

"Make your way to the tower in the center of the training field with a Heaven and Earth scroll within five full days!" She presented the appropriate scrolls before tossing them aside. "Each team will receive only one of each, and you'll have no way of knowing which team has which scroll! This is to narrow down the number of examinees, so be sure to fight as many people as possible! Also, you may _not_ open the scrolls under any circumstance! This is to simulate combat where sensitive information is involved!"

As whispers traversed the crowd, Anko smirked. "_Hook, line, and sinker…_"

"But if you don't wanna do any of that, there's one more way to pass! My partner is already in the arena; find him, kill him, and present his body to the tower!"

If Hinata didn't already know what a twisted joke this was, she would have been mortified. Of course, many others were. Even foreign shinobi thought it odd; why would killing a proctor be allowed during an exam?

But everyone accepted it in the end. Per Anko's instructions, each team received a scroll in secret and made their way to their designated gates as the afternoon sun burned in the sky.

The Mitarashi glanced at her stopwatch as the hands neared perfect alignment. Seconds before they did so, she addressed everyone in a booming voice. "Have fun and don't die, bitches! Go!"

And like that, everyone was off.

Anko smirked to no one; she knew who would be having the most fun in this test.

-----

Naruto mulled around the treetops of the dark forest in wait for his prey. The snake mistress told him that anything and anybody within the arena outside the tower was fair game, and he was thrilled to finally have the chance for some good slaughtering. "Lord Jashin, prepare for a feast from your loyal servant!"

When he heard the sound of nearby footsteps below, his heart skipped a beat and he gazed at the ground with maniacal eyes. "_Time to ring the dinner bell!_"

He dropped from the trees and descended on the first victims of the survival exam.

----

Deep within the forest sat a man on a stump. He wore a sleeveless shirt to match his ebony pants and a coiled crimson belt for nothing more than decoration. Scythes welded to a long cable scraped his flesh as they wrapped around his body, but he wasn't in any pain. Rather, he stared ahead in thought, awaiting the time to strike.

"Hey, hey," a young boy approached the prone man, "The test has started!"

He eyed the exuberant child. "I heard."

"So, so," a young girl joined in on the conversation, "Is this what we've been waiting for?"

He glared death at the two. "Yes. You two remember your target?"

The couple wove their hands together and cheered in unison. "Hinata Hyuuga!"

"Good. Go kill her."

"Yes, yes, Deadman, sir!" They affirmed the command before bounding off into the darkness of the woods.

Deadman watched after the Telsel twins and heaved a preparatory sigh before standing. "_Naruto Uzumaki,_" he thought of his vow, "_I will kill you then destroy the source of your heresy. I swear it by lord Jashin…_"

* * *

Phew! Pretty damn angsty, eh? Oh, well, at least the action's here.

Yeah... when reading over all this, I realized it -was- angsty as hell. I hate angst, but I think it's appropriate given that Naruto's basically challenging everything he's ever believed. Rest assured, though, his personality will settle soon enough and the kickassery will commence.

Thank you London! We love you! GOODNIIIIIGHT!


	10. Day of Dead Men

Phew. Took long enough, and they're lots of reasons for the wait, but here's the next chapter nonetheless. Loaded with action too, so enjoy.

* * *

Shikamaru and Ino ran hell-bent through the forest, their feet pounding on the high tree limbs and the veins in their legs pumping with blood and exhaustion. The Nara glanced back with a worried grimace, the blood on his face cool in the rushing wind.

"Is he there?!" Ino cried, her eyes as terrified as her teammate's.

"I don't see him!" he shouted, "Just keep moving!"

Ino squeezed her eyes shut, tears beading in the corners. "I don't wanna die, Shikamaru!"

"Shut _up_, Ino!" he berated her, eyes also welling with hot tears. "Just shut up!"

"But…" she argued, body strained to its limits, "But after _that_?! What can we do?!"

"I don't know!" His frustration kept mounting and he couldn't think clearly. The blonde crying at his side didn't help matters any. "Just keep running!"

And so they did. The two members of Asuma's team ran through the trees without regard for stealth. Even if another squad saw them, they would provide an ample distraction for the horror following them. If only they'd left it alone…

An eternity brought them to a break in the trees. Blinding sunlight shown through the crack in the canopy, casting dark shadows and painting the area in bright contrasts of green and gold. Even the bloodstains smeared into the ground held a kind of majestic beauty, the brilliant sunlight washing over them as a natural spotlight.

Ino landed on one such smidgen of blood and slipped with a yelp. She crashed on her back, smearing fresh gore all over her stylish outfit.

Shikamaru stopped and turned back for her. "Ino!" he reached out in haste, "Get up! Quick!" He was about to grasp her hand when he felt a presence watching over them. His eyes darted to the side and he leapt back just in time to miss being impaled by a spear.

Said weapon sailed into a nearby tree and wobbled, a severed head stuck to the center dripping black bile and oozing clear and crimson gore from its pierced eye socket. Ino gaped and crawled away from the disembodied head while Shikamaru drew a knife to face the unseen foe.

"Where are you?!" the Nara shouted. The foliage was dark under the abysmal shadows, and the owner of the pike could have been anywhere within.

No answer came for several seconds, and Ino scrambled to her feet. "Let's get out of here," she whispered, voice subdued by the bloody head. "We've gotta get out of here, Shikamaru…"

Shikamaru stiffened and Ino froze in reaction; a silhouette moved in the shadows and approached them. Another few seconds and the figure stepped into the open- black clothes soaked in dark blood, crimson belt catching the wind, and an amused smile that couldn't have been mistaken for anything other than brutality.

"N-Naruto!" Ino cried, "What are you doing here?!"

"Ah," he recognized them, "It's you guys. Couldn't quite make you out from there." The blonde strolled towards them and they unconsciously backed away. Shikamaru kept a suspicious eye on him the whole time while Ino gazed at him with shell-shocked eyes.

"What are you doing here?" the shadow user asked, trailing his drawn weapon against the Uzumaki. "_He didn't take the written test and he wasn't at the gates. And those clothes…_"

Naruto grinned at the boy in maniacal triumph. "Just getting my weapon." He approached his stuck spear, grasped the bladed end, yanked it from the tree, and slid the mutilated head off with a sickening squelch. "Didn't expect to run into you guys here."

Ino's eyes widened in realization; Naruto killed this man… and cut his head off before impaling it on the spear. She trembled in fear and shivered in sight of the blonde; he was every bit as terrifying as the horror chasing her. "Oh God…" she muttered, "He's Anko's partner!"

Naruto heard her and regarded her with a disturbing smile. "You're smarter than you look," he aimed the bladed end of his spear at her, "Too bad brains don't matter when you're dead."

Shikamaru leaned forward with wide eyes. "Wait- _you're _Anko's partner?"

The blonde killer glanced at the Nara with suspicion. "Yeah… _why_?"

But before Shikamaru could answer, a bloody mass of hair and flesh flew from the trees and smacked the ground before rolling away in uneven patterns. All eyes traced the thing's path and recognized the remains once it came to a halt.

Ino almost fainted, but her tiny voice merely faltered. "C-Choji…"

Shikamaru, however, knew the further implications. The world slowed as he turned to the darkness from which Choji's head came, and the rustling shadow coming for him was preceded by a lone tail…

The undergrowth exploded, a spine of scythe blades reaching out for anyone in its chaotic path. Ino and Shikamaru ducked the instant the hot steel touched flesh, although the shadow user wasn't quite as agile as his female teammate- he sustained a massive gash across the left forearm that left him on the ground.

Naruto, however, wasn't so lucky- try as he might, the weapon coiled around him as though he were its target. Several scythe blades dug into him, tearing into his vitals as the cable wrapped around him haphazardly. He winced at the sharp pain but didn't look to be affected otherwise. "Oh, damn it…"

The bladed cable went taut and a man approached with the other end in hand. His bare arms dripped with blood and his black clothes mirrored Naruto's in color and substance. The simple circled triangle pendant around his neck gleamed in the sunlight, reflecting the light in Naruto's bright eyes and equally shiny pendant.

"Deadman…" the blonde immortal addressed the newcomer with no shortage of disgust. "When did you get here?"

"Uzumaki…" he regarded said killer with a snarl and eyes brimming with hate. "I found you."

"Why are you here?"

Deadman's lips curled into a disgusting smirk. "To exact punishment for your sins."

"My sins?" He quirked an eyebrow. "What sins?"

He tightened his grip on the unique weapon. "You've become attached to the Hyuuga girl. This must be punished."

Naruto pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. "I'm not attached to her."

"Affection clouds the mind and stays the killing blow," he quoted from Jashin's scriptures, "You're committing the greatest sin against lord Jashin, and I'll be damn sure you pay the price."

The blonde grit his teeth in anger. "Fuck you!" he screamed, "What do you know?! I kill for lord Jashin, without discrimination!"

Deadman's eyes darkened with hatred deeper than any sea. "And yet you won't kill the Hyuuga girl."

"She dies when I say she dies!"

"And I'm telling you she has to die _now_!" Deadman lost it, shrieking against Naruto in a voice from hell. "If you're going to kill her one day, kill her now! It won't make a damn bit of difference! Why do you hesitate?! You've had your fun, now finish the job!"

"Lord Jashin says nothing about when we kill- only that we _do_!"

"And the longer you wait to kill her, the longer it'll take for lord Jashin's second coming!"

Naruto fumed, his face turning as red as Deadman's before he shouted in retaliation. Ino and Shikamaru, confused beyond reason, scooted away from the unholy argument as quietly as possible. Thankfully, the two immortals were too wrapped up in the verbal battle to pay them any mind.

The Nara was solely focused on escaping in one piece, but Ino couldn't help overhear the immortals' words. "_Naruto has to kill?_" she wondered, "_And he has to kill Hinata? Why?_"

The blonde immortal's shrieks rang in Ino's ears. "We're allowed to do anything as long as we kill for lord Jashin!"

"Listen to yourself! You pledged to live for lord Jashin, and now you think you can back out?!" The whites of Deadman's eyes flooded with wet crimson as blood cells burst under his rage. "This isn't one-way, Uzumaki! You kill for lord Jashin, and you do it without any regard for yourself!"

"Where's the fun in that?!"

"There _is_ no fun! Look in a mirror! You're a testament to lord Jashin's power! You can pretend all you want, but you're still immortal- you've already taken a side! You _must_ kill in lord Jashin's name!"

Naruto sneered, but Deadman's words hit a chord. "_He's right,_" he knew, "_Friends, a normal life… even if I had all that, at the end of the day I still serve lord Jashin. I pledged to kill in his name for all eternity…_" A lump formed in his throat and his eyes flittered at the depressing prospect. He calmed himself and took a few deep breaths before speaking. "I know… I know. But what about what I want?"

Deadman snorted and replied with a lowered tone. "What we want is irrelevant, because we'll never have it. This is something that can never change, no matter how much we fight it."

The Uzumaki felt the bladed cables loosen by the smallest fraction and decided to go for it- he flung his arms out and freed them. "I can still take what I want and serve lord Jashin…"

Deadman flipped his bloody arm in a circle, ensnaring the blonde once again by whipping more of the weapon around him. "Spoken like a true believer," he stated with a wry sneer, "But your words will be worth more if the Hyuuga's taken care of separately."

Naruto froze, partially because he was captured again. "What did you do?"

His lips parted in a smile befitting a demon. "The Telsel twins are heading to pay her a visit. Should be quick."

The blonde's brilliant eyes widened to display something they hadn't since his conversion; fear. It was only for a moment, and Deadman missed it because he blinked, but Ino caught it. The second passed and Naruto strained against the bladed weapon with renewed vigor. "You son of a bitch! The Telsel twins?! Are you out of your fucking mind?! She's _mine_!"

Deadman scowled as he put more effort into restraining the treacherous comrade. "Her life belongs to lord Jashin, and since you won't deliver it, they'll be ones to do it."

"You can't do that! This is my city- _my_ territory! Not yours!"

The hot malevolence drained from Deadman's eyes and melted into a cold stare that echoed something eternal. Something that transcended mere violence and rage, and rang with more anguish than any one lifetime could temper.

The true face of evil.

"Heretic." The immortal's voice was deep and neutral, a menacing sign to anyone who'd heard him speak before. That single word said all that needed saying before an errant shadow crept upon Deadman. "What the hell! Again?!"

All eyes swung to Shikamaru as the boy lowered his hands to nurse the massive gash in his arm. Deadman copied the movement, releasing the cabled scythes as a result, and the Nara sported a weary grin when Naruto instantly fought to free himself from the many blades buried in him.

"Shikamaru!" Ino saw the exhaustion in his eyes, "What are you doing?! You're too injured to keep this up for long!"

"I know," he sighed, chest heavy from blood loss. "That's why you should get outta here now. I'll… hold him off for as long as I can."

Ino's eyes welled with tears- she'd already lost one friend today, but to lose another so soon? "_This can't be happening…_" she thought, "_This… this is just a nightmare… just a bad dream!_"

Shikamaru saw Naruto yank the final scythe from his side and placed a rough hand on his teammate's shoulder. "Ino, move!" he shoved her, "Get going! I can't hold him for long!"

The Yamanaka hesitated- she didn't know what to do. Naruto was free and already running, and Shikamaru was pushing her towards him. Ino panicked, surrendering to instinct and following after the mutilated blonde. She glanced back with hot wet eyes every few steps, still trying to fully comprehend that this would be the last time she saw her teammate.

"_I'm sorry, Shikamaru! I'm so sorry…!_"

When Ino was finally out of sight, the shadow user smirked to himself. His arm ached, blood oozing out onto the ground as his body strained to maintain the restraining technique. His legs shook, his strength dripping from his body with every drop of blood and his vision fading with every passing second.

In his mind, Shikamaru was slowly accepting the inevitable. "_It didn't work the first time,_" he knew- Chouji proved that, "_It won't work for long again. At least Ino's safe… and she's got Naruto with her. He'll keep her alive…_" He swallowed hard; his throat was sore. "_…I hope._"

All the while, Deadman cursed up a storm; the young ninja felt the bloodlust and mounting rage rolling off the immortal like so many rivers. He didn't bother turning his head to look at the furious killer, and he didn't fight the urge to run when his tired body could take no more and freed his captor from the shadow. He gazed through the bright canopy above to see the clouds for one last time, the final view that would send him off from the mortal coil.

He frowned; it might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that a handful of clouds were shaped into an open smile.

An instant later, hot crimson blurred his vision, then nothing more.

-----

Naruto never ran so fast in his life- the trees and foliage blurred brown and green in his peripheral. Even the other presence alongside him was nothing more than a purple smear. Normally he would have minded the company, but the impending loss of Hinata was far more prevalent.

Ino, however, was terrified. Her mind had finally wrapped around the reality that her team was dead and that she could very well be next. Tears streamed across her cheeks and her lungs heaved unevenly- death was so close, and it was smiling. "I…" she stammered, still trying to make sense of it all. She couldn't, so she resorted to the only thing to which she could relate. "Naruto!"

The blonde glared back at her, annoyance clear in his brilliant eyes. But he didn't say a word.

"W-who was that?! What was he talking about?!" In the desperation to ignore her dire situation, she came up with anything and everything. "And what was all that about Hinata?!"

He ignored her and looked back to the imaginary path.

"Why do you have to kill her?!" She especially didn't understand that, and the notion of death watered her eyes with fear for her own life.

Once again, Naruto said nothing.

"I don't understand!" She was openly crying now, running for her life. "Chouji… Shikamaru… why did they have to die?! Why does anyone have to die?!"

Naruto grit his teeth; Ino's emotional outburst was infectious.

Her eyes were blurry- she followed the black smear in front of her while she practically emptied her soul to it. "Why do you have to kill anyone?! What did they ever do?! What did Hinata ever do?! What did I ever do?!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Uzumaki jammed his heel into the ground and twisted back, slamming his bleeding palms into the Yamanaka's shoulders and driving her to the ground.

"Will you _shut up_!"

Ino blinked in surprise at the angry outburst. But the shock wore off and her eyes welled with tears again. "P-please!" she begged, forcing herself to her feet, "I don't want to die!"

She stumbled to him in her sobbing stupor, and that threw him off guard. It wasn't so much that she was a surprise threat, he was simply confounded by the sight. "_This… has never happened before…_"

She approached him, her arms out for what looked to be an embrace. "I-I'm begging you, Naruto…"

He sneered at the perceived contact and swept her legs out from under her. Predictably, she fell, but that wasn't the end of it.

She'd tumbled forward, caught herself, and lurched forward on her knees, ensnaring Naruto's feet in the process. At this point, she was delirious; was Naruto as heartless as Deadman? Was he worse? All she knew was that she didn't want to die, and being next to him was her best chance for survival.

However, he disagreed. He freed one of his feet and stomped on her back. "Let go of me!" he shrieked, rage building when she refused to release him. "Get off me! Stop following me!"

But the kicking didn't register as malevolent in her hallucinating mind- they were nothing more than impulse moves. None of them really hurt enough to belong to someone aiming to kill her, and that was all that mattered to Ino's muddled brain. "Please, Naruto," she whimpered through the onslaught, "I-I'll do anything you s-say, I'll do w-whatever you want, I'll h-help you s-save Hinata, just p-please save me!"

That struck the blonde harder than any kick, and he stopped for a moment.

Ino looked up now that the blows ceased, her eyes red, face streaked in tears, and voice shaky from fear. "P-please… save me…"

Naruto stared at her with harsh eyes, wondering how to respond to that. He'd never been in this position before with someone groveling at _his_ feet, asking for _his_ help, offering anything _he _wanted in return. For the first time in his life someone consciously entrusted their life in his hands. The fear in Ino's eyes was as plain as day to him, and he took a few long seconds to really think about it.

He realized what he was thinking of doing- saving someone's life to save another. But this was _Hinata_ he was thinking about… and that was the problem. "_Why am I so worried about this? Deadman's right- she has to die. She's my responsibility- I have to kill her…_" He wouldn't admit it, even to himself, but he didn't want the Hyuuga to die so soon. She was _his_, and it was his decision when to kill her… right? That was enough, wasn't it? Jashin never decreed anything about killing quickly, did he? Did it even matter who killed her, whether it be him, Deadman, or the Telsel twins?

He bared his teeth at the world, wishing he never had to deal with this conflict. What would it matter if the Telsel twins murdered Hinata… _his_ Hinata in _his_ territory?

In this line of reasoning, he found his logic. "_No… this is my city, my rules. It has to be ME, and no one else!_" With a hope and silent prayer that his actions weren't irredeemable in Jashin's eyes, he regarded the blonde girl before him.

"Get up," he whispered. When Ino didn't move from his feet, he bent over and jerked her arm. "Stand up!"

Ino gazed at Naruto as he pulled her from the ground, a heavy burden lifting off her shoulders. In all honesty, it was the most relief she'd ever felt at one time- Naruto, however brutal his reputation and cruel his speech, was agreeing to save her life after his associate threatened it. Her heart still remembered the terror of watching Choji being torn asunder and the guilt of leaving Shikamaru to die, and she still felt the heaviest sorrow anyone could endure…

But in a way, everything was okay now. She would spend years recovering from the trauma of today, but she was safe now, all thanks to the blonde immortal. She couldn't help but look at Naruto and see him differently- no longer a heartless mystery who isolated himself from the world. However small, there was something human to him now, and it took this tragedy for her to realize it.

The moment the immortal let her go and she could stand properly, she pushed forward and embraced him tightly, her tears streaming onto his shoulder. "T-thank you…"

Naruto froze for an instant then shoved her away, the look on his face displaying his begrudging discomfort at physical contact. "Don't… just…!" he sputtered, wanting to scream at her but also trying to process what just happened. He couldn't do either simultaneously, and he idly wondered how soon he would regret this decision. "Just follow me."

Ino watched him turn and nodded, tears still warm on her face and a smile creeping onto her face. "_He's a good guy after all…_"

And so they ran, and they ran hard. Ino could barely keep up with the immortal, amazed at his prowess. Naruto could have cared less about the girl being spattered with blood from his open wounds; his mind was focused solely on reaching the Telsel twins before they found Hinata.

"Naruto," Ino's voice finally found his ears, and he whipped over to find her by his side. He glared, not wanting to reply. "How are we going to find Hinata?"

He stared back at the path, seemingly blotting out the world. "We aren't."

That confused her. "Then who…?"

"The Telsel twins."

"I… see…" She remembered that name from Deadman's furious ranting. "How will we find them?"

He glanced at her, wondering how much wisdom to impart to her. Truthfully, he didn't know much either, but it was enough. "They're younger than I am, and they're batshit crazy. It won't be hard to find them. Just listen for a child's rhyme."

She frowned, trying to understand Naruto's world now that she had invariably intertwined herself with it. "How… how can I help?"

He didn't bother looking at her again. "What can you do?"

"I…" She wiped a blood drop from her face, still distancing herself from Shikamaru and Chouji in her mind. "I can transfer my mind and possess the enemy with my family's technique…" She gazed at the blonde beside her, trying to read him and failing miserably.

His voice was devoid of feeling. "Would you feel their pain?"

She clenched her teeth; this wouldn't end well, she could tell. "Yes."

"Would it kill you?"

"N-no…" She rubbed a soreness on her leg. "As long as my body is protected…"

Naruto snorted in thought. "_Guess there's only one way to use her._" He glanced at her again and saw something in her eyes he'd never experienced before. It was a spark he'd never seen in Anko's eyes, and not even the Hyuuga sisters regarded him this way. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, just… you're really doing this to save Hinata?"

He glared at her; 'save' was almost as taboo as 'friend' in his world.

Ino took his silence differently. "I was wrong about you. You're not a monster… in fact," she ran a little closer to him, "You're… ah!"

The immortal tumbled to the ground alongside Ino before frantically searching for an enemy. His heel burned with a sharp pain, and he noted that his Achilles tendon had been sliced through. Ino's newfound shrieks caught his attention, and her clutching and clawing at her leg told him that hers was cut as well. His mind raced for a reason behind the sudden wound, but it only took a moment to figure it out.

The blonde killer spotted the smallest of cuts on Ino's thigh just below the bandage leggings- an insignificant injury that gave the barest amount of blood. "_Deadmen nicked her back there,_" he realized, "_And now both of us are caught in lord Jashin's gift…_"

Naruto pulled himself to his feet then fell to his knees again. His right lung ruptured, and new wounds cleaved across his heart. The pain was great, but nothing he hadn't inflicted on himself before. Ino, however, was another story.

The Yamanaka cried out in pain and rolled onto her back with eyes wide and chest heaving for air. She couldn't think through the pain, much less form a coherent sentence. "Happe…ning?" she gasped.

Jashin's young immortal sucked air through his teeth and glanced at her. "Deadman's trying to slow me down. Looks like he mixed a drop of your blood into mine…"

Chest still pumping for air, her eyes stared at him with the most intense fear he'd seen in a while. It wasn't a terror like Hinata's cold eyes, but there was a certain… satisfaction in them. Certainly more than Hinata had produced as of late. Naruto blinked after what felt like an eternity to find himself leaning closer to the dying girl in reaction to her horror. "_It's been a while since I've seen someone so afraid… almost forgot what it was like._"

"Na…ruto…" she could barely speak, "S-save… me… please…"

He frowned and grit his teeth; what did he do now? Deadman had obviously meant to slow him down with the sudden pain, so he was assuredly on his way. If he left Ino to die, he might slow Deadman down a little bit… "_But would it be enough time? Will Deadman even stop to finish her off?_" He shifted his legs to launch himself to his feet and run, but a sudden tug at his arm stopped him and commandeered his attention.

Ino had grabbed the end of his sleeve in desperation. "N…aruto…" dark blood pooled in her mouth and oozed forth, "I… don't… want to… die…"

Naruto stared at her, a little surprised at her resolve to live. More than that, she was still entrusting her life to him, something he'd never seen another do. Every victim he'd ever sacrificed fought the desperate battle for life tooth and nail even with the knowledge that it would be in vain, but no one ever sought out the assistance of another, especially not him. It was an odd thing seeing someone so focused on living yet maintaining enough composure to seek out another. It reminded him a lot of his own resolve as a child.

He knelt over her again, once again at the crossroads of whether or not to save her. "_She's bleeding out,_" he analyzed, "_There's nothing that can save her, not now. Unless…_"

An idea struck him, one that he _knew_ wasn't considered heresy. Frowned upon, perhaps, difficult, absolutely, but Jashin would approve of it. The blonde immortal gazed blankly into Ino's frightened eyes as he brought forth his javelin.

"Ino, how badly do you want to live?"

She stared at him with inherent confusion breaking through the agony.

"Would you do anything to survive? Absolutely anything?"

She choked on the blood and nodded, her eyes telling him everything he needed to know. With that, he got to work.

He wiped a dollop of blood from her lips and smeared a hasty circle beneath her, followed by a bloody triangle. In a matter of seconds, Jashin's mark was completed with Ino's blood, the girl herself lying atop it. Naruto brandished his javelin to the sky and held his free hand out in a grandiose gesture. "_Hope I remember the prayer right…_"

"Lord Jashin!" he called to the sky, "Your humble servant beseeches you, that you may grant through him your gift of eternity to the mortal upon your eyes! Bless only the strong with your gifts, that they may serve you for all their days until your coming! In your glory, lord Jashin, amen!" With that final cry, he plunged the javelin to the center of the mark, directly over Ino's heart. This was the first time he'd ever performed a conversion, and as the blade moved through the air, he wondered if he'd performed the incantation correctly.

Sadly, he would never know. Mere inches from the Yamanaka's heart, a foot slammed into his gut and tossed him aside like a rag doll. He sucked in a breath and recognized his assailant- that freak with the eyebrows and green leotard on Sasuke's team. He slammed into the ground several meters away from Ino, but his attacker didn't stop there. Before Naruto could recover and bring his blade to bear in retaliation, Lee disappeared from view and slammed another foot into his chest, knocking him back further. Only then did the experienced genin let up.

Naruto coughed and wheezed as he stood. "You…" he hacked up a lung, "Son of a… bitch! What do you think… you're doing?!"

Lee stood at odds with him in a wide stance, ready to act on the slightest move. "Protecting a fellow ninja from being murdered in cold blood."

The immortal sneered at the close combat expert and noticed the others come out of the woodwork. The girl with the buns in her hair rushed over to Ino's prone form while Sasuke backed up Lee. But to Naruto, the Uchiha might as well have been alone. "Sasuke…"

"Naruto," the genius spoke, "I'm surprised to see you here. I never thought you'd be the proctor's 'comrade'…"

Tenten shouted over the two, wishing to be heard. "You monster!" She tore through her medical bag as fast as she could. "How could you do this to someone from your own village?! From your own goddamn class!"

Lee spoke up, still unmoved from his stance. "I agree, Uzumaki. How one could be this cruel to someone who's never done you wrong… it is unforgiveable!"

Naruto's eyes boiled in rage and he ran at the green-clad ninja with weapon ready to strike. "Like I give fuck what you think!" Predictably, he was thwarted by Lee's superior speed, but his endurance would quickly come into play and force Sasuke to play his hand in the ensuing brawl.

As Naruto tussled with Lee and threatened death to Sasuke, Ino gasped for air. Her chest was drowning in burning blood and the only feeling left in her veins was a cold numbness that gave way to a painful lump in her throat. The colors shimmered away from her vision, but her eyes saw nothing of the physical realm. Rather, her short life passed before her in a fraction of a second. Her infant years with her father and mother, her childhood and her friends- her best friend, Sakura, and the ambitions they shared, her years in the Academy and the subsequent crush on Sasuke that drove her and Sakura apart… the nightmare of Chouji being torn apart before her eyes and her abandonment of Shikamaru to certain death…

Every memory and event she hadn't thought of in years flashed before her eyes. And now that death was settling in, she realized that all her little worries, all her squabbles over a crush, all her girlish aspirations meant absolutely nothing. Her life was ending, and blue sky and white clouds was all she noticed in the world. How crisp and clear it was… and then she saw it.

Naruto had said something about immortality, and how one had to want it more than life itself. He said she had to do anything for it… _absolutely_ anything. Did that mean dying? Instead of clinging to life, would she have to die first so that she may live eternal? If that was true, it sounded more like salvation rather than damnation. Even a life of servitude would be better than this cold, empty feeling of death.

"I… see it," she stared at the sky, gazing at the majestic swirls in the clouds and the shadow that hadn't been there a moment ago descending upon her. She raised her weak arms to the dark shape, ready to embrace this powerful force of death and life everlasting with tears beading at the corners of her pale eyes. "I… can see it… Naruto," she whispered louder, the shadow growing greater with every passing instant. She smiled when life eternal clouded her vision entirely. "It's so beautiful…"

The instant after, a boot crushed Ino's head with a sick squelch and spattered the ground with bits of skull and brain, ensuring her everlasting peace.

Tenten yelped and scampered away from the sudden stranger, and all the boys turned to the horror that fell from the sky to find a figure donned in black and smothered in gashes and blood. The phantom stood and blades uncoiled from around its body, glinting in the sunlight with rough edges and slick blood. The monster turned to face Naruto and glared with eyes so brimming with hate that even a veteran ninja would have been paralyzed with fear. But even amongst the million cuts and bruises and smears of blood both old and new, the most ferocious aspect lied within its eyes.

The blood vessels in Deadman's eyes had burst, and the blood pooling in them formed around the corneas to form rudimentary symbols of Jashin.

"You…" Deadman took a step forward, the sticky remains of Ino's head dripping off his boot, "You little _fuck_! Think you can get away with this?!" He swung out his chain of scythes at the blonde, barely aware and wholeheartedly uncaring of the three mortals scrambling out of the way. "Fuck the Hyuuga girl, I'll make sure to kill _you_!"

Naruto ducked and the bladed weapon wrapped around his javelin, but Deadman whiplashed the cable back again and ensnared the Uzumaki in its blades once again. Without hesitation, the older immortal pulled the line taut and charged Naruto with a certain fury not even the flames of hell could overcome. The blonde shrugged and the scythe blades piercing his body relaxed a bit. He moved to jump from Deadman's path, but the elder killer slammed into him full force and drove him to the ground.

Deadman sat up and straddled Naruto, being sure to tighten and raise the boy's legs enough so that the blonde had no leverage to dismount him. Deadman then grabbed Naruto by the throat with an iron grip that crushed the windpipe, his eyes bleeding at the corners and dripping onto the blonde's face. He raised a fist to pound the heretic's skull in, but a sudden sharp pain reverberated down his outstretched arm and suddenly repeated all the way down his back. "What the fuck?!" he sputtered, jaw practically unhinging in his rage as he turned to the interlopers. "How many times do I have to deal with this shit?!"

Lee gaped at the killer in shock; this man had just taken a blade to the arm and a half dozen swords in the back without so much as flinching. He glanced at Tenten to find surprise in her eyes and hands hesitant to release more swords from her scroll. Neither had seen such a human in their life- was this an illusion? Did he have several lives? Was he immortal?

As dumbfounded as Gai's team was, Sasuke recovered quicker than his comrades. He turned to them, eyes blazing with the Sharingan awoken by his teacher's insane training. "Get moving!" he spat, breaking them from their stupor. "Stick with the plan, just like we discussed!"

Both nodded, and Lee took off to the right in a blur of green while Tenten unleashed several kunai and maneuvered to the left. Sasuke remained, extracting a spool of razor wire from his weapon pouch to wrap around some shuriken. Now that his bloodline was active he could easily perform this restraining technique, but slivers of doubt arose in his mind now that this monster of a man had proven indestructible. "_Just gotta stick with the plan…_"

While Sasuke fingered his wires through his shuriken, Lee slid in for a kick to Deadman's wounded arm. He connected with the hilt of the short knife and drove it clean through the limb before darting away… or so he tried. Before he could think, he was jerked back and he screamed when pain shot up his foot.

Deadman had caught the specialist's foot on the rebound and crushed it with little effort. Tiny bones jabbed his palm and hot blood warmed his hand, and for a second he considered letting the young fool go and finishing the job later. Ultimately, he had no say in the matter.

Tenten almost lost it when Lee's foot exploded in blood. "Lee!" She unsealed another sword from her scroll and thoughtlessly brought it down on Deadman's head in the subconscious hope that he would die, but instead she was met with a pair of terrible bloody eyes.

Deadman released Lee to scramble away and stood into the blade's path. Naruto squirmed and cursed beneath him, but a quick foot to the jaw kept him firmly in place. He shot out his hand, caught the sword in mid-swing, and promptly ran his fingers down the blade to the hilt. His newfound grip wrenched the handle from Tenten and he swung his other arm around to spin the blade around.

Before Tenten grasped that she'd been disarmed, the sharp edge of the stolen blade cleft through the ring and pinky finger of her hand, cleanly severing them away along with most of her middle finger. She yanked her hand to her body in reflex, darted away, and screamed when the realization of pain and dismemberment set in.

Sasuke kept his eyes glued to Deadman and did his best to ignore the cries of his wounded teammates. His technique ready, he tossed the shuriken forward and the entangled wiring glinted in the sparse sunlight and crawled like snails in the eyes of his Sharingan. Even when the undying monster bent down again to refocus on the Uzumaki, Sasuke could manipulate the wires to ensnare him with little difficulty. And sure enough, the killer was caught. But… "_It's not working! Shit, it's not working!_"

Deadman noticed the wires digging into his flesh and decided to let this annoyance slide for the moment- if he were to go after the fool behind this, he would lose his hold over Uzumaki. Rather, he straddled Naruto again and planted the sword to his throat with no resistance from the taut wires.

"Fuck you Deadman!" Naruto shrieked, "Fuck you!"

He grit his teeth back at the boy. "Fuck _you_!" He slammed the blade to the ground, beheading Uzumaki in one swift motion. The blonde's body ceased all movement and Deadman finally unleashed a murderous grin at the boy's sputtering head. He grabbed Naruto by the hair and stood over the headless corpse, the blonde cursing him all the way.

"Fuck you to hell!" Naruto shouted as Deadman leveled their faces. "I'm gonna kill you, Deadman! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Like this?" Deadman's voice was calmer now that he was winding down from the fight. "No. You're gonna watch Tel and Sel take the Hyuuga girl apart, and you'll watch when your territory burns to the ground as penance for your sins."

Sasuke gazed wide at the spectacle, unable to comprehend the scene before him. Naruto was beheaded but still talking? This Deadman was going to destroy Konoha? And what did Deadman mean by sins? "_And 'Hyuuga girl'… Hinata? What's she have to do with all this?_" He didn't know what to think at this point, so he gently laid the wires to rest and slowly backed away, hanging on every word of the immortals.

Naruto didn't respond well to Deadman's threats. If anything, they only further infuriated him. "I've killed an immortal before! I'll do it again!"

Deadman brought the boy's head closer and sneered, his eyes still bleeding with Jashin's symbol. "You think you're the only one who's ever killed an immortal?"

That stopped the ranting. Naruto's brilliant eyes hardened in fierce confusion, and for the smallest moment his rage subsided.

The confusion only made Deadman laugh. "You think you're so damn special!" he snickered, "Well guess what? I've…" he felt movement at his feet… movement from Uzumaki's corpse… the _headless_ corpse. The older immortal glanced down and froze at the sight. "What… the... fuck…?"

A head with short blazing red hair stared right back at him. A head that grew from the stump that was the Uzumaki's neck. The head glanced one way, then another, smirked, and then spoke in a gruff female voice.

"Finally! I'm back, motherfuckers."

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand it's back! Are you ready to rumbllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllle?!

I originally intended for this chapter to be at least twice this size, but the more I wrote, the more I realized it was getting rediculously long. So I cut out the stuff after this and saved it into the next chapter's template.

So... yeah. I intend for the next chapter to wrap up this little arc (and introduce some unusual surprises), so look forward to it. A little of it's already written too, so it shouldn't take so damn long. Good news for everyone, I guess.


	11. Message for you guys

Hey guys. Bad news for all of you.

I'm having a particularly bad day, and it's kinda a wake-up call for me. I'm a senior in college, and I just don't have the work done that I should. It's one of those 'what have I been doing with my life' kind of days, and it's taken this for me to realize I've been wasting my time when I should have been working.

I hate it when authors discontinue their stories or put it on indefinite hiatus, but I now understand why they do it. I just can't do this anymore, and I'm sorry. I realize you've invested a lot of time in reading my stuff (I have done this myself), but I'm investing time I just don't have into doing something that cannot pay the bills.

This isn't to say that I won't finish my stories, but I don't know when that'll be. Maybe one day, years from now, I'll have the time to devote to fan fiction and be able to finish this crap, but today isn't the day. I'm not trying to be a drama hound- I _might_ post a chapter or two whenever I have the time, but I don't know when that'll be.

Like I said, I hate, hate, _hate_ it when authors with plenty of followers give up, but I really don't have a choice now. I am sorry that it's come to this, but I have to give this up for now.

At the very least, you'll be seeing more original content since I have a vested interest in comics, only that will go towards me being a professional rather than a hack wannabe. Take what you can get, eh?

Once again, I am sorry to leave all of you in the dust, but I have to. Thank you for your time, and I hope to see you again one day.

Till then.

-Stigma


End file.
